Delicate
by witandwaldorf
Summary: After a public scandal and dethroning, Blair returns to school sans minions and title of Queen B. She plans to spend this semester plotting her way back to the top but soon learns she has an even bigger problem. Dan has been assigned as her partner in History class and the only way she'll pass is by working with Dan. Set after The Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate. Canon Divergent.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: This is set in Season 1, after The Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate. Canon divergent after that so nothing applies from that point on, including Gossip Girl's identity. In this story (and all of my stories) assume Gossip Girl is an unknown New Yorker who is irrelevant. Thanks so much for reading!**

* * *

 _Rumor has it a certain former_ _UES queen is currently boarding her flight back to JFK. How does it feel flying coach, B? We hear since getting knocked off your pedestal you're finally learning what life's like without the finer things, ain't that a bitch? XOXO, Gossip Girl_

Blair closes out Gossip Girl and hastily swipes on airplane mode, fighting back tears from her first class seat. She feels like calling her mother's lawyer and filing for libel against Gossip Girl. She would never fly coach and she plans on taking back her throne as soon as she steps foot on campus tomorrow. When they spoke over the phone, Serena had assured her that plenty of scandals had taken place while she was away that the Chuck and Nate incident would be old news. _One can hope_ , she tells herself letting her eyes flutter shut as the plane took off.

"I can't decide what the best news I heard was while I was away," Blair ponders aloud as she walks with Serena towards Constance Billard, the school in which she was dreading returning to. "That you and Humphrey broke up or that Penelope had an STD scare."

"Ew, I can't believe you just lumped my breakup in the same category as Penelope's little trip to Planned Parenthood for a syphilis test." Serena winces.

"Sorry, it's just that both Gossip Girl stories brought me such joy. By the way," She turns sharply toward her best friend. "I can't believe you let me read about your breakup on Gossip Girl."

"We weren't going to tell anyone for a bit but it turned out Gossip Girl broke the news first. We're going to be friends anyway." Serena shrugs.

"Why? I thought we were rid of him. Don't tell me Humphrey will start ruining lunch on the steps with his tales of Cedric the Cabbage Patch Kid." Blair groans.

Serena laughs, "You don't have to be friends with him."

"Good, I wasn't planning on it anyway." Blair takes a deep breath as they reach the steps to Constance. "I don't know, S, if I can do it."

"You can! Everyone has forgotten like you said, Penelope's STD scare was so embarrassing what could she possibly do to you now?"

"You're right," Blair nods and places a heeled foot on the step, ready to reign once more. Just as a small, hopeful smile begins to cross her face as she climbs the steps, she feels a cold splash against her head and recoils in horror.

"What the fuck?" She touches the top of her head to pull away a gloop of something. She looks up and sees Jenny, Hazel, Penelope, Isabel, and Elise with satisfied smiles as they hold out yogurt spoons triumphantly.

"Oh my god," Serena says quickly wiping off the yogurt off the top of Blair's head. "Come on," She outstretches an arm and rushes me toward the bathrooms.

Blair swats away the tears forming in her eyes as she stands in front of the sink. "Well, I can't imagine that having gone any worse."

"Ignore those bitches-" Serena begins but Blair cuts her off.

"How can I ignore them when they assault me with their low cal Yoplait when I didn't even so much as glance at them?" Blair frowns at her hair which now is weighted down in the spot where the yogurt was. "The evidence of my fall from grace is all over me, literally." Blair gestures at her hair. "I'm going home, I can't be here and especially not looking like this."

"You can't let them win!" Serena protests. "Stay and fight? Remember? That's what you agreed to so that's what you're going to do. One second, let me run to my locker for something."

"You're just going to leave me here?" Blair demands, incredulously.

"I'll be back in one sec, I promise." Serena says as she runs out.

As promised, she returns a few moments later and puts something on Blair's head, before she can see what it is. She looks in the mirror and watches as Serena adjusts a white cashmere beret. Blair gives a tentative smile as she looks at her capped reflection.

"See? No more evidence. You look Parisian chic and far classier than any of them possibly could."

"Thanks, S." Blair says as the bell rings.

"Good luck today," She smiles as she walks off towards her class.

The morning doesn't get any better, but it also doesn't get any worse, thankfully. Blair doesn't have any classes with Penelope, Jenny, or Elise since the formers are freshmen and the latter takes far lower level classes than Blair does. As she finishes eating her lunch on the steps with Serena, she starts to think maybe this semester could get better. Sure the yogurt incident was traumatic and she will probably need to avoid anything resembling the substance for at least a year but perhaps all isn't lost.

That is until she walks into her last class of the day, World History, and sees Dan Humphrey. She glares at him as she slides into her seat, not before he shoots back a confused look. It's as though the universe is trying to punish me, Blair thinks to herself as she barely listens to the teacher's introduction to the class.

"So before we leave today, I will be assigning everyone a partner for the semester project. Each pair will be responsible for preparing a presentation on a significant battle in history between the early 1800s to 1900s. Choose wisely as you will need to make the presentation at least one hour long and have multiple discussion points as to why it was so significant. Now, for the pairs."

Assigned partners? Blair scoffs to herself. This feels like second grade. Maybe she'll get paired with Nelly Yuki, even though she's basically her rival since they both have their sights set on Yale. Perhaps she can coerce Nelly into doing all the work, though. As the names get called off in alphabetical order, Blair eagerly aways Ms. MacAllister to reach W. Finally the moment comes and Blair realizes she's holding her breath.

"Blair Waldorf and Dan Humphrey."

"What?" Dan and Blair simultaneously say in disbelief.

"That's it, now that you all have your partners I strongly suggest meeting and exchanging emails or phone numbers." The teacher closes her book and begins to pack up her things.

Blair glances over at Dan, "This is not happening, Humphrey."

"Like I want to be paired with you, Waldorf." He shoots back.

"Ms. McAllister, I think there must be a mistake in the partnerships. I don't see myself and Humph- Dan, working well together." Blair says politely once she reaches Ms. McAllister's desk.

"On the contrary Miss Waldorf," Ms. McAllister looks up. "Each pair was selected with the utmost care. You and Daniel are both at the top of your classes, I think it will be a very beneficial partnership indeed."

"I appreciate your efforts, Ms. McAllister but I would appreciate being reassigned to another partner." Blair objects as Dan joins them at the desk.

"Blair," Her tone becomes more serious. "If I were to let you switch partners than I would have to let everyone. The decisions are final. Work together or get an automatic failing grade."

As Blair and Dan exchange horrified looks, Blair realizes her dethroning is the least of her problems, now.

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 **Thank you all for leaving feedback on what story I should continue! This won out and _SincerelyKi_ made a great point that since this one is inspiring me more, it's best to go in that direction. I do hope to return to writing The Bridesmaid and The Journalist at some point. I want to think of a fun twist on 27 Dresses so it's not so predictable, I think that's what got me stuck in a rut. I hope to update this story again by next week!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the POV issues in the last chapter. I had originally written it in first person but switched to third person so I would be able to also share Dan's POV in certain chapters. So sorry about that but it's fixed now! Thank you for reading and reviewing, I'm so happy you guys seem to like this concept :) PS Sorry this chapter is so short, next one (in Blair's POV) will be longer. I'll update again within a week!**

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Dan Humphrey throws his messenger on the couch and slumps down alongside it the moment he arrives home.

"First day back that bad?" His dad, Rufus, asks from the kitchen after surveying his expression.

Dan ignores the question, focusing instead on what his dad is up to. "You're making waffles right now?" Dan frowns. "It's 4 in the afternoon."

"Breakfast for dinner." Rufus says with a smile. "That was always you and Jenny's favorite. It looks like you could use it to cheer you up, right about now."

Dan groans. "Even waffles can't solve the problem I have."

"Post-breakup not going so well with Serena?" Rufus surmises.

Dan shakes his head, laying his head back on the pillow and sprawling across the couch. "Not Serena. _Blair._ "

"Blair Waldorf?" Rufus looks confused.

"The one and only." Dan states flatly. "It turns out that the major benefit of my breakup is nullified thanks to World History as of today. I have to go strike through the 'No More Blair Waldorf' bullet on my pros list of the breakup."

"Is that so?" Rufus waits for Dan to continue.

"Our teacher paired us together on semester long project. No partner swaps allowed and the project makes up 25 percent of our grade so if we don't work together, the automatic fail on it means I would get a C in the class, demolishing my slot as valedictorian."

"She may be, what did you call her '95 pounds of girly evil'? But she has always seemed to be a bright girl. So maybe being paired with her isn't the worst thing in the world?" Rufus hazards.

"As we left class, she called her dad's lawyer to 'weigh her options.' She also said she was going to schedule an appointment with the school psychiatrist to get a note proving that my very presence causes her 'emotional distress.'" Dan sits up and rubs a hand across his forehead.

"Well," Rufus says at last. "It sounds like you'll have your work cut out for you."

The creak of the loft door causes both of them to turn their heads. Jenny walks in, or rather struts in, as she seems to be doing ever since she started hanging out with Penelope. "Hey," She says breezily, sitting down at the bar stool. "Oh, waffles!"

"Jenny," Dan walks over to her. "What was that at school with Blair?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jenny says, her voice laced with saccharine notes.

Dan narrows his eyes. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Rufus surveys them both, spatula frozen in mid-air. "What's going on?"

"Should I tell him or will you?" Dan asks his sister, still irritated.

"Since when do you care about Blair?"

"Since I got partnered with her for the semester in World History. The arrangement isn't going to be made any easier with you assaulting her with dairy products all before the day has even begun." Dan states dryly.

"Jenny," Rufus says cuttingly. "Please tell me you did not do that."

"It was just a little yogurt. Cosmo says it makes your hair shinier so if anything I did her a favor." She smirks.

"Jenny, that could get you kicked out of Constance and you know how hard I worked to get you into that school." Rufus' cheeks start flooding with heat and Dan realizes how much trouble he's just gotten his sister into. _Her problem not mine_ , he thinks to himself and grabs his bag to make his way into his room.

He opens his laptop to begin a list of potential topics. He had convinced Blair to at least supply him with his email so they can begin discussing potential topics for their presentation in case her little plan didn't work, which he knew it wouldn't. He was hoping he could convince her that they should do their project on The Battle of Warsaw since he already owned a textbook that covered it extensively and he even had notes they could use on it. Considering it was Blair though, he knew the chances of him getting her way were slim. Knowing her she would probably want to do their project on Marie Antoinette or Anne Boleyn. He would need a strong argument so he decided on coming up with three options, two of which he would like to cover and one he was only halfway interested in but knew it might actually convince her.

Once his detailed bulleted list was complete he fired it off to her email, hoping she would actually read over it before sending some snarky reply. Half an hour later it came, although less insult-laced than he expected. Also, no mention of succeeding in her psychiatrist or lawyer angle in order to get rid of him as a partner.

 _To: danhumphrey_

 _From: blairwaldorf_

 _Subject: RE: Potential Topics_

 _Not bad, Humphrey, I will give you that. But if you think for a second I will be spending my semester researching and writing on one of the bloodiest battles in history you are even more insensible than I previously assumed. The only topic of yours I would consider for a fraction of a second is The French Occupation. Given that my dad resides there we could presumably gleam more information from him by having him or in fact, his partner go to the local town history center and scan and email over some brochures. Perhaps that would give us a one-up on the other groups and ensure an even higher score. Let me know your thoughts._

 _Blair_

He rereads it, waiting as he scans each sentence for some sort of verbal harassment but there never is one. Well, except maybe for the remark about him being insensible but coming from Blair, that was going mild on him. He quickly types back a reply agreeing to her proposal and asking when she wants to get started. He thinks it's a bit ridiculous that she didn't just give him her number so they could text about when to meet but that's Blair of course. She claimed she didn't want to be seen having "Dan Humphrey" in her contacts. She called it, "actual social suicide" as opposed to the Chuck and Nate incident of the fall, he presumed.

Around 6, he emerges from his room to eat dinner with the family. He finds only Rufus at the dining table with only two place settings. Dan gives him a quizzical look.

"Your sister is sulking over being grounded despite the fact that I went easy on her by only grounding her for a week." Rufus supplies.

"So she's on a hunger strike?" Dan asks sitting down across from his dad.

"The classic Jenny Humphrey rebellion move, that and ignoring us." When Dan frowns at this, Rufus adds, "She blames you for the punishment, by the way. Since you told me about the yogurt incident."

Dan shakes his head. "She'll get over it, eventually."

"So how's the project with Blair going? What'd she think about your topics? Or rather how aggressive was she in shooting down all of your ideas?" Rufus laughs.

"Actually, she wasn't." Dan says in an upbeat tone. "We agreed on one, The French Occupation. We're meeting in the library tomorrow at lunch to get started on it."

"That's great!" Rufus enthuses. "Maybe being paired with her isn't the worst thing after all?"

"Maybe not," Dan says with a faint smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for the reviews :) Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

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"You would think I would have nothing more to dread today than the prospect of seeing Jenny Humphrey sitting at the top of the Met steps with my minions but no, thanks to Ms. McAllister, that's the least of my worries." Blair sighs heavily as she and Serena step in sync to class the following day.

Serena laughs playfully, "Come on, Dan is a great partner to have on a project that affects your grade so heavily."

Blair gives Serena a sharp look. "Really? How would you know that? You probably made him do all of your homework for you while you dated him. In fact…" Blair thinks for a moment. "If that's the case, then you dating him finally makes sense."

"You're terrible, B." Serena shakes her head. "Of course, I didn't use Dan for his intellect."

"Intellect? More like basic intelligence required for attending a prestigious private school. The only way an Ivy League accepts him is if they need another low-income student to fill their scholarship quota."

"So it sounds like that whole 'being nice this semester' goal is going really well?" Serena asks sarcastically.

"Hey, you said I should do that, I never agreed to it. Anyways, I am going to be late for class. See you at lunch." Blair says before heading off in the direction of her French class.

Later that afternoon, while sitting on the steps waiting for Serena, Blair taps her foot impatiently. Her supposed best friend was late by 10 minutes now. Finally, after feeling far too conspicuous to be seated alone in such a public venue Blair begin furiously tapping at her phone.

B: _Where are you?_

S: _Sorry! Caught up with tutor. Going to be late. Wait for me :) Only 10 more mins, promise xxxx_

B: _Lunch will almost be over by then… It's fine, I should go to the library anyways._

S: _Sorry, again. I'll make it up to you!_

Blair sighs as she tosses her uneaten parfait in the trash and looks forlornly at where Jenny and her former minions sit atop the steps. She sees them all giggle and even though she's out of earshot, she knows she's the reason for their laughter. She tears her eyes away and heads back to the school.

She still has 45 minutes left of her lunch period so she actually does end up going to the library. She makes a start for the computers to begin searching for some relevant texts to her and Dan's project. As she's jotting down the titles and catalog numbers on a scrap of paper she senses someone hovering behind her.

"What do you want?" She turns around to glare at the offender.

Of course, it's Dan Humphrey. Blair rolls her eyes as he speaks. "Hey, didn't expect to see you here."

"The French Occupation isn't going to research itself." Blair says dryly.

Dan lifts the paper from beside her hand and starts inspecting it. "You found quite a few good options. I'll help you find them." He offers.

"I'm fine on my own, thank you." She hastily reaches for the paper.

He swipes the paper back. "We work together or we fail, remember?"

Blair huffs in resignation. "Fine. But you follow me." She leads him off toward the History shelves, not caring if she's too fast for him to follow. But he succeeds in his pursuit and is right behind her as she starts scanning the titles. "I need the list back." She holds out her hand.

He ignores it and instead reads aloud. "VI5732567"

She pulls out the corresponding book and thrusts it at him. "Next."

He reads the next one, and so on until he's carrying a stack full of 8 hardback books.

She glances at her watch. "Class is starting in 5 minutes."

"Should we divide these up between us? We can each scan read and take notes on 4 and then get together to go over them?" Dan suggests handing her a few of the books.

"I suppose that is an efficient way of doing it." Blair says slowly, taking the books. She adds, "But, when you say 'get together' let's just clarify that. Approved meeting places include the school library, a coffee shop nearby, or my penthouse. Notice, none of those options include Brooklyn as I simply refuse to enter the land of hipsters and poor people."

"Actually rent in Brooklyn is higher than-" Dan starts to protest.

"Let me stop you right there. Nothing you say about Brooklyn will change my mind. So those are my conditions, do you agree?" Blair waits for an answer.

"You're ridiculous but fine." He sticks out his hand and she reluctantly shakes it.

"See you in sixth period, Humphrey." She says, walking off with her head held high.

"See you, Waldorf," Dan echoes with a shake of his head.

Blair is actually thankful for the library run-in as she enters sixth period. The reason being, Ms. McAllister decided it would be helpful if all the partners sat together for the semester so they could "get better acquainted" and use any spare class time to work on their projects. If Blair had not had the earlier precursor of the torment inflicted upon her by the mere proximity of Dan, she would not have been able to appear unfazed by the new arrangement. Biting back every urge to protest and scream and demand she be seated as far away as possible, she managed the neutral expression of a dutiful student as she slid in beside him when the announcement was made.

As their teacher monotonously drones on, Blair flips through one of the books they had checked out, idly flagging the relevant pages. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Dan has begun to do the same and by the time class ends, a quarter of each of their respective texts are accented with vibrant tabs.

"I'll have my notes to you by Saturday." Blair tells him confidently as she packed up her bag.

"I can do the same." Dan slides a textbook into his messenger bag before slinging it on his shoulder.

"Miss Waldorf," Blair looks up to see Ms. McAllister standing before their desk. "I wanted to check in regarding your assigned partner. Shall I expect any further protestations?"

Blair scans the teacher's face, noting that her expression almost urged Blair to make her demands. It furthers her resolve to act as though she was completely fine with the arrangement. "That won't be necessary, but thank you Ms. McCallister. I misjudged the assignment before but now see how this is actually a blessing in disguise as I have the chance to work with a peer possessing equivalent intellect." She seals the statement with a smile, in her peripheral vision, she can see Dan stare at her in complete bafflement.

Rendered speechless for a moment, the stern teacher regains herself. "I'm so glad to hear it. I look forward to seeing what you two accomplish together."

"As do I," Blair widens her smile and gazes toward Dan who still stares at her wide-eyed. "Well, we're off to go research together. Thank you again."

Once out in the hallway, Blair mimes gagging, finally allowing herself to feel the nausea induced by her earlier proclamation. She rehearsed that speech about 20 times last night in the mirror of her vanity. A moment later, Dan exits the classroom and joins her in the hallway where she still stands.

"What the hell? Since when do you want to work with me?" He scans her face. "I thought you hated me and this assignment. In fact, I recall you mentioning getting lawyers on 'correcting such a heinous error in judgment.'" He intones.

Blair starts laughing, "Clearly, I deserve an Oscar for that performance if even you bought it." She pauses to halt her laughter before explaining further. "I did indeed look into fighting the pairing but after speaking to my dad I changed my mind. It turns out Ms. McAllister's husband is on the board of admissions for Yale so given that newly discovered connection, I decided it would be best to play nice and go along with her horrid arrangement. Afterall, Yale does value teamwork."

"Of course, being nice to me now serves your best interests. That explains everything" Dan's face floods with clarity. "Why didn't you mention that at lunch? That would've been the perfect opportunity to warn me."

"Because it was far more fun to see your face when I bullshitted all that nice stuff about you." Blair laughs at the memory.

"I didn't think fun was something you were capable of." Dan replies.

"I didn't think even having a shot at an Ivy League was something you were capable of but here we are." Blair tosses back.

"So what, we have to pretend to be friends now?"

"Who said anything about friends? All I said was that I will be civil to you so it doesn't look like I totally hate the arrangement." Blair says as though it's obvious.

"Which you actually do." Dan supplies. Then he seems to think of something, "Are you really so sure that the McAllister's pillow talk consists of the dynamics between her seventeen-year-old students?"

"Ew, I would rather not picture that." Blair shakes the image out of her head before continuing. "The point is, that it could affect my chances at Yale, therefore, I will not jeopardize my future by making a scene." Blair says flatly. She glances around. "I have to go. I've been near you for far too long and we both know that being seen with _Dan Humphrey_ is the only thing that could possibly tank my reputation even further at this point."

"Wha-" Dan tries to reply but she's gone before he can finish his sentence.


	4. Chapter 4

**Happy New Year! I am excited to continue writing this and some other ideas I've been working on! Once this story is complete, I'll be writing another Sophie Kinsella-inspired story (like The Girl Who Stole My Phone) I've already written a bit of the first chapter so I'm feeling more motivated to update Delicate more frequently so I can get going on my other ideas. Thanks so much for reading!**

* * *

 _To: Blair Waldorf_

 _From: Dan Humphrey_

 _Subject: Notes_

 _Hey,_

 _Here are my typed notes on the four books. I included summaries of each one as well as bullet points with corresponding page numbers to the relevant information. Maybe we should figure out a time to meet to start working on the outline. Let me know._

 _Thanks,_

 _Dan_

 _To: Dan Humphrey_

 _From: Blair Waldorf_

 _Subject: RE: Notes_

 _Humphrey,_

 _I am impressed with your punctuality. I was just about to send you my notes, which are attached. I regrettably agree that we have no choice other than to meet in person to write the outline. I suppose I could sacrifice one of my lunch breaks this week, so Monday? If so, let's meet in the library, I'll secure a study room for us._

 _Blair_

After firing off a reply to confirm their Monday plans, Dan signs out of his email and shuts his laptop with the faintest of smiles. Surprisingly this project had been going smoothly. Ever since Tuesday, Blair had been cordial to him in class, although cordial could be a strong word on second thought. More like… Indifferent, maybe. The insults she fired off were becoming less common due to the fact she had to restrain herself in class to maintain her dutiful student image. Given that currently the only time they were seeing each other was in class and the brief few minutes in the hallway before and after, Blair only had approximately 3 minutes a day to toss a bonmot his way. Which made her attacks on him far less frequent.

Except, there was that moment when he ran into her in the hallway on Thursday. He nearly slammed into her when rounding the corner, proceed to drop his books, and instead of helping him pick them up, she wrinkled her nose and derisively told him to watch where he was going and to reconsider his shoe choice while he was down on the ground because she felt it was "a crime against humanity" to wear such "heinous footwear." But still, if the worst she did to him all week was insult his favorite chukka boots that might be slightly scuffed it was an improvement.

He didn't realize the scheduled Monday lunch meeting might pop the bubble of tolerance until it was far too late. The second he opened the door to their reserved study room, slightly late because he couldn't find it right away, he saw her menacing glare and braced himself for the onslaught.

"Hey," He tries to placate her by being breezy. "Sorry, I'm late. I couldn't find you."

"Really, Humphrey?" Blair narrows her eyes. "You couldn't find me even though I said I would reserve a study room which meant A) You could check the sign-up sheet at the front desk to see which room I reserved or B) You could check the room closest to the history section since that's obviously the ideal location." She rolls her eyes. "Honestly, I wonder how it is you are hoping to attend an Ivy League."

Dan feels a flush rise to his cheeks, even he has to admit it was pretty stupid of him not to check the sign-up sheet or immediately come to this section. "Sorry," He mutters again as he sits across from her at the table.

"Well, let's not waste any more time." Blair huffs. "While I was waiting for you, I started an overview of what our outline should entail."

"You outlined our outline?" Dan can't help but smirk.

"If you want to call it that. Some of us are actually organized and use their spare time in useful manners." She pushes her notebook forward begins gesturing with a pen. "So we should start with our synopsis. I was thinking we would write that once we've compiled our research. Then, we should outline the build-up to the occupation, then move onto the beginning stages, and finally, arrive at the occupation which of course will be the bulk of our project."

Dan nods in accordance as it all sounds like what he had in mind. "One of the books I took notes on had pretty detailed information on what led to it."

"I know, I read it." Blair says curtly before continuing. "I thought I could focus on the initial stages of the occupation and you could cover what led to it since that's what you primarily researched. Then, we'll write the portion the rest together." She wrinkles her nose as she says it, as though the thought of having to cooperate totally irks her.

He simply nods instead of replying.

"Good," Blair's tone is brisk. "Should we get started on the outline then?"

Trying to see what one another is writing and gesturing stops working quickly and Dan ends up sliding into the seat beside her. When she leans over to read the printed mortality rate during the era of the occupation, he can't help but let his eyes wander over to her focused expression. He realizes that she really does look like Audrey Hepburn and he thinks about telling her but then thinks better of it.

"Humphrey? Can you at least pretend to pay attention to what I'm saying?" She says derisively and he starts. "Or are your own notes that dull?"

"I'm listening, just thinking about the best way to break down the information." He lies.

"Well, care to share your thoughts?" She sits back down in her own region of the table and he feels relieved although he's not sure why.

By the end of the meeting, they've got half of the outline written and have finally exchanged phone numbers. The email only policy really did seem ridiculous so Dan was glad Blair finally relented. His winning argument was that if he had her number then he wouldn't have been late since he could've just texted her to find out which room. Although, Blair only gave her phone number under the condition that he use it for school purposes only, as though he's going to be calling her willingly.

As she slides the draft of the outline into her folder, she looks to him. "Good work, Humphrey. I must say you are a better partner than I thought you would be." She seems to think of something. "So far…"

Dan feels a tiny flicker of satisfaction. "You too, Waldorf." He slings his messenger bag over his shoulder. "See you in class."

She nods, perfunctory, before exiting the study room.

"You look surprisingly upbeat for having just spent, what half of your day with Blair Waldorf?" Rufus comments when Dan returns home from school later that day. He slides into a bar seat facing the living room as his dad strums the guitar, lightly.

"Actually, yeah," Dan admits. "It went really well. Except for the lecture she gave me for being late which was actually her fault not-" Dan realizes he's starting to ramble. "But the point is, it was good."

"Don't tell me you've turned to the dark side and actually enjoy her company now?" Rufus teases.

"No, _no_ , no." Dan says quickly in alarm. "Seeing her as a good partner for a project is so far as it goes. Don't expect me to see me willingly hanging out with her anytime soon."

"Thank god," Jenny strides out of her bedroom, snark written across her face. "You hanging out with someone as tarnished as Blair Waldorf could easily damage what I've worked so hard for, Dan."

"And what's that? Being the ultimate mean girl?" Dan retorts.

"Whatever, Dan. Call me a mean girl all you want, you know you're just jealous since you're still an outsider. Even more so now that you aren't dating Serena." Jenny flicks her hair off her shoulder.

"Jenny, I have to agree with Dan." Rufus comments. "Your behavior is getting out of hand. I don't want you hanging out with the girls anymore."

"Try to stop me." Jenny taunts, slinging a weekender bag over her shoulder. "I'm spending the night at Hazel's," She heads out the front door before Rufus can even call her back.

Rufus turns to Dan who stares back blankly and shrugs.

"She can't just dictate where she goes like that, she's 15." Rufus says, still agog.

"Apparently, she can." Dan's tone is wry. Seeing his dad still upset, he adds. "Don't worry. Being part of that clique will burn out soon. That group turns on each other every five seconds and by next month there will be a replacement queen bee. Perhaps, literally, if Blair has her way."

"I never thought I would say this nor care about high school cliques at my age, but I certainly hope so." Rufus says, a desolate look on his face.

"Ugh, I can't concentrate!" Blair agonizes, slamming her book shut. Dan watches and sighs, feeling the same. He glances around in hope that one of the study rooms has opened up but none have.

It's Friday after school and Dan is sitting in the main seating area of the library at a table with Blair trying to finish their outline which is due Monday. The two of them had hoped to finish it today so they wouldn't have to worry about it over the weekend. But clearly, everyone else had the same idea judging by the packed library. Blair was especially annoyed that Nelly Yuki and her partner had secured a study room and Dan had had to listen to her rant about it for the first ten minutes they spent searching for a spot. The rest of the time was spent trying to ignore the noisy chatter, chirping of book checkouts, and the shushing of angry librarians which did little to quiet the raucous scene. With all of the distractions, they had only managed to churn out one (very likely nonsensical) paragraph.

"This just isn't going to work." Blair finally declares, shoving her fingers through her curled tendrils in frustration.

"So… We meet here over the weekend to finish it?" Dan muses, watching her click her pen anxiously.

She turns sharply to him. "Of course, not. It's bad enough I'm spending my Friday at the library with _Dan Humphrey_. I'm not about to make it my Saturday too."

"Do you have to say my name like that every time?" Dan asks, rhetorically. "So what do you propose?"

Blair's brown eyes cut to him and she looks at him as if he's very idiotic, indeed. "We obviously have no choice but to go work on it at my house."

"Okay…" Dan says skeptically. "Are you sure that's the only option?" The last thing he needs is her yelling at him to not ruin her marble floors with his "heinous shoes" or to stop contaminating the crisp Upper East Side air with his Brooklyn aura. He's already imagining a plethora of ways in which he will piss her off by simply being present in her immaculate penthouse. Today had been rough enough, did they really want to test her patience?

"Yes, now come on." She barks at him, thrusting the books at him and his messenger bag before he could protest. He hesitates for a second but then realizes he has no choice but to follow. He takes a deep breath, steeling himself for the crossing of the threshold he thought he'd never breach.

* * *

 **TBC... from Blair's perspective :)**

 **I'll update again next week!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you all so much for the feedback! I love hearing your thoughts on the story and what you think will happen next :) Hope you like this chapter! Thanks for reading! PS I'm sticking to weekly updates for this story so expect another chapter within the next 7 days!**

* * *

"Okay, much better." Blair declares as they sit down at the Waldorf dining room table, taking in the silence. "So I was thinking, we should backtrack for a second. I am honestly not sure if any of those sentences we wrote were coherent so let's proofread."

She puts the rough draft of the outline between them and hands Dan a red pen, taking one herself. She scoots slightly closer to be able to read the paper before them. After reading for a couple of minutes, she's already found a few grammar mistakes.

She reaches to slash out the improperly placed comma at the same time Dan attempts to strike the paper with his own red pen. Their hands collide, causing a smudge of ink the color of blood across the lower corner of the paper. Blair withdraws her hand as though she's been burned. "Watch it, Humphrey!" She checks her hand for pen marks but finds none. Then she softens her tone, "You first."

Dan makes a few marks and then she adds hers. Dan speaks first, "It's a good starting place but we definitely need a better topic sentence to hook in the reader."

Blair nods, "I agree. What if we include a startling statistic but condense it into a more tangible fact?" Blair watches Dan as he thinks,

"How about this?" He scribbles down on a loose leaf of notebook paper.

She leans in to read it but gets distracted by the scent of him. She didn't think Dan Humphrey would wear cologne but the faint scent is vaguely pleasing. Her own thought recoils her slightly and she shifts away a bit, refocusing on the paper. "That's surprisingly just what I had in mind."

As they wrap up the conclusion section an hour later, Blair realizes it's gone dark outside. She glances out the window and surveys the dusk city, faintly aglow with city lights. She lets out a breath in relief, "It's done then?"

"Looks like it to me. I think it's literally impossible for me to proofread and edit anymore at this point, the words are beginning to blur."

"Me too," Blair admits. "It's perfect though, right? Because I'm an A student Humphrey, you don't get in the running for valedictorian by slapping some words together and calling it a day."

"If you recall, I'm also eligible to be valedictorian which is why we were paired together in the first place. So I think you can trust my judgment." Dan is a bit short with her.

"Okay, just wanted to check we had the same intentions. Let's go upstairs and make a copy so we have backups. I don't mind typing up the final hard copy this weekend to turn in on Monday."

"Are you sure? I could do it." Dan offers.

Blair shakes her head, derision in her tone "I don't want it to end up drenched in maple syrup like one of Rufus' waffles come Monday morning."

"Waffles aren't all we eat." Dan replies, a bit defensively.

"Really? What did you have for breakfast today?" Blair challenges.

Dan looks away, "Well, that's just a coincidence. Besides, I'm capable of keeping our outline from encountering maple syrup or other possible contamination between now and Monday."

"You see, that's where you're wrong. You'd contaminate it the second you grab it with your clammy Brooklyn-born hands." Blair retorts.

" _And_ you almost made it a whole week without insulting Brooklyn once," Dan says wryly.

"Did I? Clearly, I've spent too much time pretending to be nice to you. It's fooling my brain into thinking I actually like you." Blair wrinkles her nose. "Also, _what_ have you been keeping track?"

Dan looks away sheepishly.

"Oh my god, Humphrey, you totally have, haven't you? I was kidding before but seriously? Show me now, Humphrey! Where's your log of offenses?" She makes a grab for his notebook which he promptly swipes away.

"There's no log. Well, not an official one." He amends.

She reaches across him with all her might, not caring that she's practically just launched herself at him. A gratified smile crosses her face as she wrenches the spiral binding from his grip and she stands in triumph, crossing the room so he can't steal it back. Her jubilation is halted though as she flips through in disappointment, only finding notes from class. She flips again, determined even as Dan watches her.

"Aha!" She exclaims, finding a series of tallies on the second entry which must have been the second day of class. "Five tally's on Tuesday…" She flips the page. "Three tally's on Wednesday, two on Thursday, four on Friday and so on. Why keep track and in such an unorganized manner. If you're planning to use this against me by showing it to Ms. McAllister it's not very damning evidence. Hope you're not planning on enrolling in Yale's Criminal Justice Program because let me tell you, you'll hardly be successful at it and the city will probably be swarming with violent offenders and the likes."

Dan laughs, "So even you think your antics are practically criminal?"

Blair rolls her eyes at him, "Obviously that isn't what I meant. You're dodging the real point, nice try."

"No, I just kept a tally to test a theory." Dan says vaguely, irritating her further.

"What theory?" She looks suspiciously at him.

"A theory. So let's get these copies going? I would like to catch the subway before midnight so let me know how much longer you plan on berating me for."

"Berating you? I'm not even ugh-" Blair huffs in annoyance and grabs him by the elbow. "Come on."

She drops his arm, marching up the steps with the outline in hand. She leads him into her bedroom and heads for the printer. She ignores him as she lifts the lid and presses the button for two copies. She wordlessly hands him one of the warm, crisp papers as it arrives out of the printing tray.

"Thanks, sorry for-" He stops himself. "I'll stop tallying, if that helps."

"Not necessary. You could at least tell me your theory though if I'm a part of some experiment, I should know what it is."

"True, but it's nothing really. You sort of just said it yourself, earlier. I just hypothesized that pretending to tolerate me for Ms. McAllister's benefit would make it harder for you to intentionally be mean to me." Dan adds, "Like how studies show pretending to be happy actually makes you legitimately happy."

Blair thinks about this. "Lucky you, _if_ it works. I've got plenty more Brooklyn and breakfast-related insults just waiting to be tossed your way."

Dan laughs, "I'm sure you do. What a great shame if you never get to use them."

"I'll just have to get paired with another Brooklynite with an affinity for waffles next semester." Blair smiles.

"You wouldn't really wish that upon yourself would you?" Dan frowns at her.

"You're not all bad Humphrey." Blair amends. "In fact, I will make up for my previous tally-inducing offenses by saying this. You have continued to be a more than tolerable partner and I actually am beginning to see why we were matched." She instantly regrets using the word matched, thinking of an online dating service. Her nose wrinkles, unbidden.

Dan doesn't seem to notice any romantic undertones, "Thanks, Waldorf. You too." He glances down at his paper. "Anyways, I should head out."

As he walks out of her room, he seems to notice something on her dresser. "I wanted to see this, I never got around to it though." He flips the DVD over in his had, surveying the back cover.

"It's the first one I've seen by him." Blair says in reference to the film, Syndromes and A Century directed by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul. "It's a beautiful story, a little sad though. But the best ones are."

"I didn't read too much on it, the review I read said the best way to approach it is with a blank mind without expectations." Dan looks up from thumbing the cover. He sets it back down on the dresser.

"You can borrow it if you want." Blair offers, surprising herself.

Dan looks equally surprised.

"I've already seen it, so there'd be no rush." She supplies.

"If you really wouldn't mind." He says, a little uncertainly.

"Of course not," She gives him a small smile and hands the DVD to him.

"Okay," He takes it tentatively. "Thanks,"

They go downstairs and Dan collects his books and jacket. "See you Monday," He says, heading toward the elevator. "Thanks again."

"See you, Humphrey." Blair watches as the elevator doors close. She turns and notices Dorota standing in the foyer, giver her a look. "What?"

"You nice to Lonely Boy." Dorota shakes her head. She comes over and feels her forehead. "Sick? Fever?" She keeps fussing over her.

"No," Blair swats away her hand. "I'm not sick."

"No other explanation. You hate Brooklyn Boy." Dorota states flatly.

"I don't." Blair says then takes it back. "I mean, I don't know. I was trying out being nice for a change."

"Sure, Miss Blair." Dorota says skeptically walking away.

"Dorota!" Blair calls after he. "Dorota, you know I would never willingly be friends with Dan Humphrey. It's for the project. For Yale." She intones.

"Okay, Miss Blair." Dorota smirks which annoys Blair even more. She stalks off to her room, feeling mixed up. Maybe Dan's theory is true and that's why she had the sudden urge to be nice to him. Or maybe because of Serena. She was the one that had been urging her ever since the scandal to try out generosity. Serena would be proud, Blair smiles reassuringly to herself. Feeling inspired, she retrieves her phone from her purse.

B: _Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?_

S: _Nothing! Let's hang out :) Bendel's?_

B: _Sounds perfect! Meet at my place? Sleepover after?_

S: _Yeah, be there at 2 xoxo_

The following day, Blair finds herself trying on at least 10 pairs of Manolos in Bendel's with Serena. Once they've finished in the shoe section, the girls head up to look at dresses. It's then that Blair finally shares her news. "You'll be pleased to know I have taken your advice and tried 'being nice.'" She informs Serena of this fact not without slight mockery though, unable to stop herself from miming air quotes.

After letting out an exciting squeal of delight, Serena asks, "And?"

"It has gone better than expected," Blair says vaguely as she surveys a Chloe dress.

"Yay! I'm so glad you took my advice. So who were you nice to?"

"Believe it or not, _Dan Humphrey_." Blair is unable to face Serena as she tells her.

Serena laughs. "He was my boyfriend, you can just call him Dan. But really? I sort of don't believe you, actually."

"I know, I know. I think I deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for my efforts. You would be shocked at how utterly civil I have been. And even generous, I loaned him a movie." Blair says casually. She leaves out the fact that she derived a weird pleasure from their exchange in regards to the movie and that she was actually interested to hear what he thought of it.

"Let me guess… That movie was The Outsiders or… Outcast?" She rests a finger on her lips, pensively. "Something with a subliminal message in it."

"S, those movies aren't about literal outsiders or outcasts, at least not in the social sense. And no, I leant him a movie he expressed interest in. Told you, prize worthy generosity." Blair gives her a sideways look with a smirk.

"I'm proud, B. Really. Penelope, Is, and Hazel will be begging you to be their Queen again." Serena squeezes Blair's hand.

Blair takes a moment before responding, stopping shopping entirely. As she stares out, into the well-lit department store, she has a realization. "I don't want them to."

"What?" Serena's eyes widen.

"They abandoned me and traded me in for Jenny Humphrey despite the fact that we've been friends since.. Forever, practically. They act like I did something to personally offend them when it was nothing to do with them and everything to do with Chuck and Nate. Yes, I didn't always treat them as equals." She admits a little reluctantly. "But what they did to me, with the yogurt. That's public humiliation and something I never did to them. Backhanded compliments, certainly. Sabotage in the case of Nelly Yuki, but that was before she was 'in.' They crossed a line, I can't forgive. If anything, they should beg me to take them back."

Serena seems to consider this. After a pause, she nods. "You're right, you don't need them. You're always Queen to me and you'll always be my best friend, whether everyone else sees that or not. Besides, I think I like this Blair the best. You seem, lighter and happier."

"Maybe, I am." Blair gazes out the store window with a wistful expression.

The following Monday, when Blair and Serena eat lunch on the steps, her realization has changed her. She doesn't gaze longingly towards where Jenny sits in her former place and she doesn't fill her mind with elaborate schemes to take her down. Instead, she listens to her best friend talk about how she's tutoring Nate in Algebra which Blair finds amusing. Serena may be beautiful and intelligent in her own way but in the mathematical sense, no way. But she figures Nate's brain cells could perhaps be too fried by his after-school activities to even appreciate a proper tutor anyways so what does it matter? She bites her tongue and instead listens without a single mocking remark.

That afternoon, she gets let out of fifth period early so she heads straight to her last class of the day, World History. She glances around the hallway and spots Dan waiting outside of class too, leaning slightly against a locker. No one else is around so her options are to stand alone and wait (like a loner) and not acknowledge Dan or to wait with her project partner and be civil. She chooses the latter.

"Hey," Blair says, walking up to Dan. Her decision to stand and wait with Dan seems to surprise even Dan.

"Hi…" He responds with a bit of a question in his tone. He looks around, "You might not want to stand so close, right? It's pretty damning to your reputation and what not?"

"I'll risk it." Blair says wryly, stepping a little closer so they are standing close enough that the casual observer would think they're friends. "So did you watch the movie yet?"

"I did, sorry I haven't given it back yet." Dan's apologetic.

"Relax, Humphrey. I was asking conversationally, that is what people do usually when sharing a topic of interest." Blair teases.

"Right," He seems to relax a little. "You were right, it was a great story of love even if there were sad undertones. Overall, I really liked it and might check out more of his films."

Blair smiles, "I'm glad you liked it. You'll have to tell me if his other work is worth watching."

Dan starts to say something about another director she might like until suddenly, his head swivels down the hallway and he looks a bit horrified. "Uh, you might want to pretend to be annoyed with me or act like you were just ranting at me." Dan gestures down the hallway where Penelope, Jenny, Hazel, and Isabel are striding their way. "I am guessing you don't want them to think you're willingly talking to me."

Blair looks their way and thinks for a moment. "On the contrary." She takes another step closer, her arm resting against Dan as they stand side-by-side. She ignores his stricken expression and smiles, "You were saying?"

* * *

 **TBC... In Dan's POV. Because we have to know what he's thinking during all of this, right?**

 **PSS Blair defying her (former) minion's expectations is loosely inspired by 2x19, The Grandfather. I love Blair's rebellious streak in that episode so I wanted to bring in a bit of that characterization.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Picking up where the last chapter left off :) More notes at the end of the chapter. Thanks so much for continuing to read and review!**

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Dan's eyes are fixed on the spot where Blair's arm meets his. He's never felt so flummoxed in his life. Blair. Waldorf. Is. Touching. Him. Willingly. _What the fuck?_

His eyes dart across the hallway to survey the scene before him. Jenny is practically fuming with rage, Penelope is scoffing in disgust, Isabel looks completely confused, and Hazel says snarkily, "Lonely Boy, really?"

They march off, Jenny turning her head back to toss one more glare Dan's way. As soon as they are gone, Blair starts laughing. "Wow, your sister really really did not like that."

Dan turns to face her, stepping away roughly. "What the hell, Blair?"

"What?" She shrugs innocently. "Friends don't hang out in the hallway together before class?"

"Friends do," Dan agrees steadily. "But the last time I checked we aren't friends."

"Really?" She looks a little crestfallen but Dan knows better than to think the expression is real. It's just sarcasm. She singsons, "Just when we were beginning to get along."

"Don't use me in your schemes." Dan says in frustration.

"Scheme?" Now Blair looks genuinely surprised.

"That's what that was, wasn't it? Trying to get back your old title by getting to my sister or proving some sort of point to Penelope and the other mean girls."

Blair frowns, "What point would that be?"

Dan shrugs. "Who knows, with you? But I know you always have something up your cashmere sleeve."

"Angora," Blair corrects. "But no, I don't this time. I just did that because why should I let them dictate who I talk to? They're not my friends, they made that very clear when they accosted me with their cups of non-fat yogurt." She wrinkles her nose. "So honestly, I don't give a fuck what they think."

The assertiveness in which she says it takes Dan by surprise and leaves him speechless momentarily. He scans her face for any trace of a lie and finds none. "But what about your reputation?"

"In case you hadn't already noticed, it can't get much worse. Besides, soon enough I'll be at Yale where no one will know of any of the high school scandals I was entangled in. Even if they do, I highly doubt being seen with Dan Humphrey once in a high school hallway will be particularly gossip-worthy. You're not _that_ bad."

Before he can respond, Ms. McAllister opens the classroom doors. Blair starts for the door but when he doesn't follow, she turns back. "Coming?"

He nods, still stunned into silence. He's grateful for Ms. McAllister's no-nonsense method of teaching as she starts her lecture instantly, allowing him to forgo any further conversation with Blair. That whole hallway tableau was just too boggling and he needs to comprehend it before he can formulate a coherent sentence.

Throughout class is mind his an internal debate arguing the likelihood of Blair lying versus the possibility of her being genuine. He only feels somewhat settled when he doesn't even realize class has ended and he breaks from his reverie at the sound of Blair's cutting tone. "Humphrey, are you going to take up residence in this classroom or are you leaving like the rest of us? I know Brooklyn is wretched but I didn't think it was so bad that it would force you to prefer the surrounding of this colorless classroom."

He looks up sharply, nodding along. He grabs his bag and books, still not speaking and follows her out.

She continues speaking once they are in the hallway, "Since the next deadline isn't until over a week from now I think we're ahead of schedule. So we could plan to take a couple days off and regroup on Thursday, thoughts?"

Dan almost sighs with respite but he holds back his relief. A couple of Blair-free lunch periods and evenings is just what he needs to sort out his thoughts. "That's a good plan. Lunch or after school on Thursday?"

Blair seems to consider, "After school. Let's not have a repeat of the last time we tried to work in the library." She rolls her eyes. "Anyways, I'm off to go meet Serena for drinks at Gramercy Tavern. See you, Humphrey."

The familiarity of the snarky nickname pleases him in a way it never has before. He lifts a hand in a half wave, "See you, Waldorf."

When he gets home, his dad is there just as predicted. "How was your day?"

"Weird," Dan says, shaking his head in memory.

Rufus looks at him curiously. "Care to elaborate?"

Dan lets out a breath. "I don't even know where to start. But I think Blair Waldorf is my friend now or she wants to be... Or she's just pretending to be as some sort of scheme." He furrows his brow. "Honestly, I have no clue."

Rufus laughs, "You never do with her, do you?"

"Never do, never will." Dan gives a tired sigh.

"So how did this friendship or faux friendship come about?"

"Well, let me just warn you that you might be hearing about it from Jenny. She's less than happy and will be the first-" Dan's sentence is cut off by the sound of the loft door swinging open. On cue, Jenny strides in, seemingly on the warpath.

"Dan!" She glares and starts for where he sits on the couch. She looms over her, a menacing look on her face. "What was that in the hallway? Don't tell me you're dating Blair Waldorf. Are you trying to torture me or just tank my social status?"

"Dating Blair?" Rufus looks alarmed. "I thought you said you were just friends a second ago."

Dan looks between them with a pained expression, "Dating Blair?" He echoes. "No, definitely not. I would never, definitely not."

"Definitely not?" Rufus teases. "You know, adamant denial is usually only used as a defensive mechanism, perhaps to hide the truth."

"Ew, Dan, really?" Jenny winces. "The idea of you and Blair is just about the worst scenario I can possibly imagine. So I guess you really are just trying to torture me."

Dan regains himself and takes charge, "Okay, first of all, I am not dating Blair. Second of all, even if I was it would hardly be for you to judge, Jenny. You're the one hanging out with Blair's former minions. You're the last person that should be judging me spending time with her. Furthermore, to be honest with you I'd be glad if it did 'tank your social status' if it meant you'd stop being so bratty."

"Oh calling me a brat, good one Dan." Jenny spews, tone sardonic and eyes narrowed.

"Kids," Rufus intervenes. "Let's settle down."

The two siblings glare at each other as Rufus embarks on a speech about family being an unbreakable bond, et cetera, et cetera. Dan doesn't really listen and as soon as the speech is over, he heads to his room. An hour later, he resolves to be the bigger person, after all he is the eldest.

"Jen," He knocks on his sister's bedroom door.

"What?" She says in her usual angsty tone.

He pushes open the door a few inches. "Can I come in?"

"To lecture me?" She asks snarkily.

"No, I just want to talk." Dan's tone is placating.

"Fine, I guess." She huffs in annoyance and Dan steps in.

"Look, Jenny, I know you and Blair have had your differences. But I need you to understand that I have been assigned to work with her and if I don't, it could cost me my chances at both Yale and being Valedictorian. I get that you don't like her, and you don't have to, but I am free to be friends with or simply work with her. It puts me in a tough spot when you are mean to her. I know that you have new friends now and it would be hypocritical of me to tell you not to hang out with them. But you don't always have to do what they say, you should have freedom too." Dan looks at her, scanning her face for an incoming defensive speech. Instead, she stares at him blankly before finally nodding.

"I just don't get why you have to be friends with her? But you're right, I can't choose who you're friends with just like you can't choose mine. So I'll ignore Blair and not make any more comments about the two of you if you can stop calling my friends 'the mean girls' and stop being so judgy of us."

"As long as there are no more attacks on me or Blair." Dan clarifies.

Jenny sighs, "Yeah, no more attacks, dairy-related or verbal."

"Deal," Dan nods. "Thank you, Jenny." He adds, before heading out of her room.

Jenny keeps her word, Dan is relieved to discover when two weeks pass without further drama. He and Blair turn in the final draft of their essay and start planning to work on the presentation. Without the watchful eye of Jenny and the minions, Dan finds it a little easier to embrace the new friendship with Blair.

He half expected her to drop the act once she realized her former friends seemed to have moved on, for the time being, but she continued with her niceties. By niceties, he really meant just talking to him in the hallway, not insulting him on the regular, and occasionally lending him a movie. Yet those little changes still never escape his notice.

"Bad news, Humphrey." Blair proclaims after class on Thursday. "I know we were supposed to work on the presentation at my house today but apparently my mother has decided that I need to be out of the house. She's previewing the plans for her latest collection to her team and as you know, prefers to keep me far away from anything involving her precious namesake line." Blair briefly alludes to the modeling incident that still makes Dan wince when he remembers it.

"Oh, no problem. We can just work at it at the library, then." Dan says easily, unfazed.

"But we've been over this a million times, the library only inhibits our efficiency." Blair's tone is frustrated and she flicks her eyes away as he apparently misses the point.

"Well, I'm not sure what else to suggest." Dan throws up his hands, at a loss.

"Fine if you'll make me say it then I will, we are working on it at your house. Thank you for making that so easy. I just love committing heinous social blunders." Her tone is equally sardonic and frustrated.

"You want to work on it at my house?" Dan echoes in confusion. "Blair, I live in Brooklyn."

"I'm well aware of that. But it's the best option right now." Suddenly, she smirks. "Besides I'd love to see Cedric again. So are we going or not, Humphrey?"

True to herself, Blair refuses to ride the subway there and insists they take her town car. Dan realizes as they make the journey from the UES to Brooklyn that he's never been in such a confined space with her before. But he makes it out unscathed, surprisingly, and before he knows it, they're sitting around his IKEA desk, planning out the presentation slides.

As Dan asks Blair what she thinks of including a true account from a French resident during the occupation, there's a delay in her answer. He looks at her and frowns. "And you're not even listening…" Dan realizes as she appears to be somewhere else, entirely.

"Sorry," Blair seems to remember him and looks away from where she was staring off. "Honestly, I just am so distracted by that." She gestures towards the garage door, the same one she commented on the first time she was in his room.

Her rant begins to gain momentum and she starts speaking more rapidly. "I mean there's a garage door in _your bedroom_. It's literally so distracting, Dan. And simply put, it's strange. Like who, when designing this loft thought to themselves, you know what this room really needs? A garage door." She shakes her head. "It's weird, just admit it."

Dan looks at her, surveying her expression. She doesn't even realize what just happened. He starts to say, _You just called me Dan._ But he doesn't want to burst the bubble and kill the peculiar yet satisfying feeling that her saying his name induced. So instead he just says, "You're right, it's really weird."

"Thank you," Blair looks gratified. She leans over the notes in front of them. "Now where were we?"

* * *

 **Sorry to end two chapters in a row so similarly. But it seemed like a good place to leave off. The next chapter might also be in Dan's POV due to an upcoming scene that needs to be from his perspective. Unless I can work out a way to work in another Blair chapter in between. Either way, I am working on it and hope to update again within a week!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Back to Blair's POV since I figured out how to make this particular chapter work in her perspective :) This chapter has elements of canon, but reimagined. Thank you for being patient with the updates, I'm so glad to hear it sounds like you guys are enjoying the progression! Thanks so much for reading! Expect another review later this week or next Monday, at the latest.**

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The pages are warm and crisp between Blair's fingers as she retrieves them from the printer a couple of hours later. "So if we staple each of our copies together, then I think we are done for the day." Blair tells Dan. "Stapler?"

He rifles through his desk but doesn't seem to find one. A thought seems to strike him, "Jenny borrowed it the other day. It's in her room. I feel weird going in there without her here though."

Blair rolls her eyes, "I'll go get it... If seeing one of her bras or something is what's scaring you away from her room."

Blair tentatively pushes open the double doors with the streaming ribbons cascading down belonging to Jenny. She glances around, even though she knows Jenny isn't around. As she scours for the stapler, she notices a half opened garment bag and sees a bright red dress. She can't help but sneak a glance and she spots a Valentino label and frowns. _How did Jenny Humphrey afford that?_ She wonders. She remembers Dan is waiting for her and refocuses, she spots the stapler on the seemingly now useless sewing table and snags it.

"Jenny doesn't sew anymore?" Blair asks once she's back in Dan's room. "I didn't see a sewing machine, just a toolbox of thread and supplies."

"No," Dan sighs. "She gave that up when she joined Penelope and co, apparently."

"Hm," Blair says absently, thinking. She takes the stapled packet handed to her by Dan and slides it neatly into her bag. "If that's all then, I'll be leaving."

"Yeah, I guess it is. I'll walk you out." Dan says, rising from his seat. As they walk into the living room, Rufus enters the loft.

"Blair," He smiles at them. "What were you kids up to?"

"Just working on our project," Dan answers. "We just finished for the day. How did rehearsal go?"

"Great! I can't wait to be back on stage tomorrow." He sets down his guitar case.

"Lincoln Hawk is still playing shows?" Blair asks, in confusion.

"A reunion show for Rolling Stone." Rufus enthuses. "Lisa Loeb will be there, Smashing Pumpkins, and Sonic Youth. You should bring, Blair, Dan."

Dan laughs, "Dad, I don't think Blair would want to spend her Friday night listening to the angsty music of the 90s amplified."

"You don't know that, she might be a closet alt-rock fan." Rufus counters causing Dan to laugh sarcastically.

"Thank you, Mr. Humphrey, but I wouldn't want to impose. I'm sure Dan is bringing Vanessa anyways." Blair smiles politely.

"Actually, uh, Vanessa is working it." Dan runs a hand through his hair.

"Oh," Blair says a little uneasily. "Well, thank you, I guess I'll think about it."

She starts for the door and Dan follows her into the hallway, closing the loft door behind him. "You don't have to walk me out, I think I can manage."

"I don't mind. Besides, if something happened I'd never hear the end of how you were right about Brooklyn all along."

"That's true," Blair agrees.

"Sorry about my dad, I don't know why he'd think you'd want to go to that." Dan says as they descend the stairs.

"What makes you so certain I wouldn't?" She glances back at him.

"Oh," Dan stops looking caught out. "Would you? I mean, you can come if you want to."

"Wow, such an enthusiastic invitation, how could I say no?" Blair retorts, sardonically. At Dan's pained expression she goes easier. "I'm kidding, it's fine. I'm not really one for nostalgia anyways." They reach the street and she spots her town car waiting. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right… Bye, Blair." Dan lifts his hand in a half wave before she climbs into the car which promptly pulls away.

About to swipe on a second coat of gloss, Blair freezes as Penelope, Hazel, and Isabel enter the girls bathroom the following day. Pretending she hasn't noticed as soon as they look her way, she resumes glossing and starts blotting her lips with a Kleenex.

"So anyways, obviously, she's been a nightmare all week. Because it's a one-of-a-kind and it's not like she can just call up Valentino to make her another." Hazel huffs in annoyance. "The worst part is that was supposed to be my dress someday. She promised it to me."

Blair snaps to attention, memory instantly flashing back to the red dress on Jenny's bed. It all makes so much sense now, except why would Jenny do something so stupid? She wonders.

"Hazel, are you sure it's really gone?" Isabel asks, placatingly. "My mom is always convinced some designer piece or another has gone missing but it always turns out it's just in her walk-in the whole time."

As the girls continue debating, all the while pretending not to notice Blair, Blair contemplates her options. A) Sell out Jenny, effectively dethroning her and presumably regaining her title or B) Blackmail Jenny with this new information or C) None of the above.

Letting out a breath, Blair seals back up her lip gloss and tosses it back in her bag. "You should have your mom check the dry cleaners, Hazel. They have nearly lost almost a dozen Waldorf Designs." She rolls her eyes. "Which one does your mom use again? That one of Sixth by the Duane Reade, right?"

Hazel glares at her, seeming to decide whether she should reply or not. "Of course, that's the best one in the city. And don't you think I already thought of that?" But by the look on her face, Blair can tell she hadn't and feels a swell of relief.

"Whatever," She says, exiting the bathroom without a further word.

"Can we work on the presentation again at your house? That way we have more time before you have to leave for the concert." Blair thinks on her feet, at the end of sixth period.

"Um, sure." Dan says, sounding surprised. "Are you sure you want to go to Brooklyn twice in one week? That might make Gossip Girl."

"I'll take my chances." Blair smiles but it doesn't seem to wipe the confused look off his face. "But I'll meet you there, I have to stop at home first."

"Okay," Dan thinks for a moment. "Hey, are you sure you don't want to come tonight? I mean, you'll already be in Brooklyn."

Blair pretends to think about it, as though it hasn't been on her mind during the past 24 hours. "Maybe, I'll change while I'm at home in case I decide to come."

"Sounds good. Text me then when you're on your way."

"I will, see you soon, Dan." Blair calls before they part ways, him bound for the subway station.

At home, Blair reaches into her safe and counts the bills, procuring just the right amount. Then she scours her outfit for a suitable outfit. She pretended she wasn't certain if she would go to the concert but she already knew she would. Nearly all of her Friday nights this semester were spent alone, watching an Audrey movie wishing she still had friends. Save for the couple of nights when Serena was actually free but even then, they didn't really go out. So even though the idea of being forced to listen to some washed up musicians pretend to still be relevant didn't sound like her idea of a perfect night, it sounded better than texting with Dorota and trying to find a movie she hadn't already watched this month. And the prospect of spending her night with Dan didn't sound totally terrible, if she was being honest.

She settles on a 3.1 Phillip Lim dress and throws a leather jacket over it that she found on the Waldorf Designs sample rack in her mother's office. She pulls out her phone and texts Dan to let him now she's on her way. When she gets there, the plan doesn't leave her mind even while they work on the presentation.

"I think I lost an earring here yesterday." Blair says when the timing is just right. "Have you seen it?"

Dan furrows his brow, "I haven't. What does it look like?"

"It was a pearl earring." She glances around. "I don't see it either. Maybe it fell out when I went to get the stapler from Jenny's room?"

"Maybe, you can check. Jenny's not here right now." Dan says, almost as though following a script he wasn't aware of.

"Sure, if you don't mind."

Once she's in Jenny's room, she finds the dress now hanging in the closet and retrieves it. She lays it out and tacks the note and bills onto it. She lays it across the bed, where there's no way Jenny could miss seeing it and then leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

She reaches into the pocket of the leather jacket and retrieves the little pearl stud. "Found it!" She announces to Dan, brightly, flashing him the earring.

He seems relieved as he lets out a breath. "Good, I'm glad." He thinks for a moment. "Did you decide if you want to go to the concert? It starts in half an hour so we would need to leave soon. Oh and by the way, we have backstage passes so you wouldn't have to mix with the commoners." He says wryly.

"Well, you should have led with that." She smirks. "In that case, I will suppose I will come. But only if my pass says VIP."

Dan frowns, "There are no VIP passes, it's too small of a venue."

"I'm kidding," She laughs. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Blair?" Vanessa takes the pass Blair holds out, warily.

"Yes, it's me." She says with a teasing smile. "I know, hard to believe it."

"Yeah," Vanessa says, shooting Dan a look. He seems to ignore her and just says instead, "How are you, Vanessa?"

"Confused," She says, looking back to Blair. "But good."

"That's great, we better be getting backstage right, Dan? You know what a big Leaky Hawk fan I am, I wouldn't want to miss the set." She pastes on a bright smile.

"Lincoln Hawk." Vanessa corrects with a scowl before they walk away. Blair laughs to herself, it's so easy when it comes to Vanessa.

"So what time does your dad go on?" Blair asks as they stand in the wings, watching some former 90s rockstar Blair doesn't recognize finish his set.

Dan glances at his watch, "20 minutes from now."

Blair nods. Then she has a thought, "Did you inherit any musical talent from your dad?"

"Not really, I mean I guess if I had really tried I could've gotten into it but I only play guitar intermediately," Dan says humbly.

"I tried to learn to play guitar once." Blair's tone is wistful, thinking of the acoustic guitar her dad got her for her fourteenth birthday.

Dan's head turns away from the stage to gape at her. "Blair Waldorf, playing guitar?" He shakes his head. "I don't believe you."

"I did!" Blair insists, smiling at his utter disbelief. "I wanted to learn to play so I could be just like Holly Golightly. I thought the whole idea of it was so romantic until I learned that playing the guitar actually blisters your hands and gives them so many calluses that you soon find you have the hands of a middle-aged blue collared worker."

Dan laughs at this, "Now that reason for trying to learn actually does make sense. I can only imagine how disillusioned you were when you found of how very unglamorous it actually is."

"Especially at the fact that it was totally implausible that Holly would've condoned her hands to such a fate in her line of work." Blair remarks.

This causes Dan to smirk, "Well, I just hope you were only aspiring to replicate the guitar thing, and not her career of choice."

"If you can call it a career." Blair shoots him a level look. "Anyways I did learn the opening notes of Moon River before I gave up." She shrugs.

"Do you think you can still play it?" Dan asks, his face full of interest.

"I don't know," Blair replies earnestly. "That was over 3 years ago. Is it one of those skills you never forget? Like learning a bike? Although I don't know how to do that, therefore, have never tested that theory."

"Only one way to find out," Dan heads straight for the row of extra instruments lining the backstage wall and grabs an acoustic Taylor guitar.

"But we'll disturb the concert." Blair shakes her head. "They'll kick us out of backstage and I am not listening from the standing room. It smells like weed and patchouli."

Dan laughs, "I meant outside, come on." He takes her by the hand, catching her off guard and leads her through the back door. It opens out onto a stairway and the street before them is empty. Dan sits but not before setting his jacket down for her to sit on. Then, he gestures beside him. He hands her the guitar and she takes it reluctantly.

"I'm doubting myself now…" She turns to look at him, skeptically. "If I totally suck, are you ever going to let me live it down?"

Dan pretends to ponder this, "If you do, I'll let you live it down but only if you drop the Cedric thing."

"No, not Cabbage Patch!" Blair protests.

"Then you better not totally suck." Dan smiles at her.

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, trying to remember where her left hand needed to press down on the chords. Once she feels she has it, she adds her right hand, gently placing them over the strings. She starts to strum but stops abrubtly. The notes sound all wrong. She tries again and lets out a frustrated breath before shaking her head at Dan.

"You almost had it," He says patiently. "Try again."

"Fine," She's reluctant but places strums one more time, this time it sounds a little closer to how she intended it to. She strums again and although it still sounds off, it's not terrible.

"That's actually pretty good. Here," He pulls out his phone and types something in. "I think you just have one of the chords wrong, I'm looking it up."

He finds it and then nods to himself. "Okay, so you're using the C chord when you need to use the G chord."

"I have no idea what that means. I don't remember how to play which chord, I just remember how I did it, if that makes sense." Blair furrows her brow.

"Show me how you think you'd do it." Dan instructs and Blair places her hands back where they were. "So," He says reaching over to her. "This finger needs to go here."

As his fingers lightly grip hers to rearrange them properly, she savors his warm touch and feels a jolt of surprise when she realizes she doesn't want him to let go. When he pulls away, satisfied with his work, she feels a little deflated.

"Now try," He nods at her, expectantly.

She begins strumming and smiles triumphantly at the sound which resembles that of Moon River exactly. "Oh my god, I'm doing it."

He laughs, "I guess you'll still be able to make all the Cedric jokes you want."

She stops playing to look at him. "I guess so." She says steadily. "Although… You've been so nice to me that I think it would be rather difficult to anymore. I'll just reserve them only for when you've been really irritating."

"Don't you always find me irritating?" Dan counters, chuckling.

Blair frowns at him, "No, of course not." She says it very seriously and Dan's laugh fades away as he studies her. There is tension between them and she feels uncertain as neither of them say anything. Unable to bear it any longer, she hands him the guitar abruptly. "Your turn."

"My turn?" Dan looks down at it. "I don't know what I'd play."

"Hm," Blair thinks for a moment. "Play something by Vanessa Carlton."

"Who's Vanessa Carlton?" Dan asks.

"Damn, I was hoping I could make fun of you for knowing who that is. Um, I don't know in that case, play anything."

Dan starts playing and while the song sounds familiar, she has trouble placing it. Then it dawns on her. "Wonderwall!" She says suddenly.

"One of the few songs I can play through," Dan says, still strumming.

"You're really good," Blair says with meaning. She watches as he plays the rest of the song. Seeing him focused on the notes, eyes fixed on the guitar and lips softly moving as though singing along without making a noise, her stomach does a weird somersault. She has to look away by the last few notes because the strange tightening sensation in her chest is getting stronger. Desperate for an excuse, she looks at the time on the screen on her phone. "Five minutes until your dad goes on."

"We better get back inside," Dan holds open the door for her and he follows her in.

Blair wishes that she could say the feeling dissipates as soon as they're away from the stairwell and back in the noisy backstage wings. But it doesn't. The rest of the night she fights her eyes from straying over to him, hands aching for the touch of his again. She's grateful at 10 when he says they can leave early since they've already seen his dad played and the following 2 musicians. She doesn't even try to protest, desperate to go home and analyze this strange shift that seemingly occurred on the stairwell.

Dan waits with her on the sidewalk as her town car finishes making the journey from the Upper East Side to Brooklyn. She called her driver before left the venue so he should be here any minute. She feels a swell of relief as soon as she spots it approaching. She turns to Dan. "Thanks for inviting me tonight, I had fun." She says, meaning it yet feeling a little surprised at the truth behind the sensation.

"Of course," Dan waves off her gratitude. "I'm glad you came."

"Me too," Blair replies and then there's an awkward pause. It's the part of the evening where they'd kiss, if this was a date, or they'd hug if they were friends and not former enemies tentatively exploring the possibility of friendship. So instead they stare at each other until Dan finally says that he'll see her Monday and she steps off the sidewalk to climb into the car. Closing the door behind her and the car pulling away thereafter, she can't help but feel a wave of disappointment as his face recedes behind her.

When she wakes up Saturday morning, she tells herself that it was all a delusion. There was no tension, no flicker of something, and no lingering feeling. Anything she felt was just the result of accumulated loneliness since losing her boyfriend, her friends, and whatever Chuck was. Nothing more, she reassures herself over and over again, until she starts to believe it.

It works... Until she sees him again Monday afternoon.

* * *

 **TBC**

 **PS If you're a bit confused as to what Blair is up to regarding the dress, that'll be explained in the next chapter (in Dan's POV).**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm sorry, this update took way longer than it should have. All around business got in the way of writing unfortunately but I should be able to resume normal updating now! Sorry for the unexpected delay. Hope this chapter makes up for it! Thank you so much for sticking around :)**

* * *

It's Monday afternoon and Dan must really need his vision checked. Because he swears he just saw Blair and Jenny having a hushed conversation in the corner of the hallway. Before he could get a second glance, Jenny was gone and just Blair remained. He watches from afar, waiting for some further confirmation but sees or hears none. So instead, he realizes his only choice is to ask Blair.

Tapping on her phone, leaning idly against a locker, Blair is seemingly unaware of his presence. "Blair?" He finally asks to get her attention.

She looks up and smiles, "Hey," She frowns slightly. "Am I running late to class?"

"No, there's still a few minutes." Dan explains as she puts her phone away in her purse. He's unable to hold his question in any longer. "Was that just my sister I saw you talking to?"

He expects a caught out expression to take hold on her face but it doesn't. Instead, her face remains unreadable as she offers a vague explanation. "I suppose so. We just were discussing dry cleaners. You know, it's just impossible to find a good cleaner in the city?" She shrugs. "Anyways, I had given her a recommendation and she just was sharing her feedback."

Dan looks at her skeptically but can't find any evidence of her lying so instead he just nods. Then, he asks gently. "Would you mind if we worked at the presentation at my house today?" He wants to be home so when Jenny gets there, he can get her side of the story. He suspects a scheme brewing and is determined to uncover it.

"Sure," Blair agrees without hesitation, surprising him. "Shall we?" She gestures in the direction of class and he follows her down the hallway, toward sixth period.

Midway through working on their PowerPoint that afternoon, Dan hears the familiar sound of the loft door opening and the echo of Jenny's heel as she walks across the concrete floor. He bides his time, until he feels Blair is completely immersed in the slide she's working on and won't pay much attention to him. "Hey, I need to ask my sister something really quickly. Do you mind?"

She glances at him absently, typing furiously on her laptop. "Go ahead."

He closes the bedroom door behind her and then heads for Jenny's. Receiving her go ahead to come in, he opens the door tentatively. "Hey, I need to talk to you for a second."

"Um, okay," Jenny says warily as she pushes her blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Were you and-" He halts midsentence as something catches his eye on her sewing desk. "Is that a sewing machine? I thought you sold yours…"

"I did, that one was a gift." She explains without further detail.

"Jenny, why does it say Waldorf Designs on it?" Dan feels even more suspicious now as he sees the script emblazoned across the side of the seemingly brand new machine.

"Ugh," Jenny sighs frustratedly. "If you must know, the atelier had extras that they weren't using so Blair said I should stop by and pick one up."

"Wait what? Blair told you to do this? The girl whose head you dumped yogurt on?" Dan shakes his head, not comprehending.

"Do you always have to bring that up?" Jenny rolls her blue eyes, her patience seemingly waring.

"Is that what you two were talking about in the hallway today? Since when does Blair do you favors?"

"The hallway? Were you spying on us?" Jenny laughs incredulously. "Yeah that and something else. It's none of your business really."

Dan narrows his eyes at her. "Did it involve dry cleaning?"

"Yes, why, did Blair tell you?" A brief flicker of panic crosses Jenny's face. "Don't tell Dad!"

"Tell Dad what?" Dan crosses his arms over his chest.

"I thought you knew." Jenny's anxious expression turns into one of confusion. "About the dress?"

After more coaxing, Jenny finally explains what happened. Dan holds back the urge to immediately lecture her on how stupid ever stealing that dress was but he resists in order to hear the full story. Apparently, after Blair found out she stole Hazel's dress, which Jenny insists she was just 'borrowing', Blair told Hazel her mom should check the dry cleaner. After confirming which dry cleaner she used, she instructed Jenny to take the dress there and pay the owner to say it had been there for weeks. Hazel took the bait apparently and Jenny was officially off the hook. Dan flips over the note that was written by Blair, _Sewing dresses always suited you better than stealing them._ He stares off, needing to process.

The only thing he can come up with to say is a question. "But why?"

"I don't know, you ask her. She's in your bedroom, isn't she?" Jenny's eyes flick back to her laptop, dismissing him.

Dan must have been gone long enough for Blair to notice because when he comes back in the room, the first thing she asks is, "Everything okay?"

He thinks about asking her then but can't find the nerve to do it. So instead he just says yes and asks for her to bring him up to speed on what she's gotten done. But it keeps nagging at him and he finds himself spacing out, trying to work out every possible angle Blair could have had in helping Jenny.

"That should be enough for today." Blair's pronouncement brings Dan back into reality. She's packing up her books and standing.

"Wait." He says in a rush before he can stop himself. "I know about the dress. And I keep thinking about it and trying to find a way in which it helps you dethrone Jenny, but every time I come up blank. And I realized something… You didn't do it for any selfish motivation, did you?"

Blair looks caught off guard and her eyes shift away. "I don't know what you are referring to."

"Yes, you do." Dan urges. "Why won't you let anyone see that you're a good person? I see it, I think I've seen it for a while, I just thought it was too good to be true."

"Glad to hear you have such faith in my character." Blair glares at him now and he regrets expressing the sentiment.

"Blair, I'm saying it as a good thing." He reaches out and he's not sure why but it doesn't matter anyway because she recoils instantly. "You're kind and you're thoughtful, you should let people see that."

"You're really making me regret helping your little sister. So if you don't want me to change my mind and go tell Hazel right now what actually happened with the dress, I would strongly suggest you stop this analyzation of my motivations and character." Blair says, icily.

Dan is taken aback. He should have known this would be her reaction. He should have stayed quiet, but he couldn't. Because even now he sees the cracks in her hard exterior, the way her eyes drop briefly to the floor and she seems to be holding her breath. So he lets it go. "Okay, I'm sorry for saying anything." He tries to change the subject. "So I'll see you tomorrow at lunch?"

"Actually, you won't. I'm eating lunch with Serena on the steps and we got enough, or I should say _I_ got enough work done tonight that tomorrow can be a day off from working on the project. I'll see you in class." She slings her bag over her shoulder and walks out of his room before he can even say goodbye.

He's beginning to see how this strange, tentative friendship works with Blair. The second he acknowledges it, they take two steps back. But if he keeps up the charade of merely tolerating one another, then it progresses. It's like everything with her has to be under false pretenses otherwise she does what she did tonight, which is freak out on him and revert to pre-project Blair.

The next day, he decides to play it her way. He doesn't wait for her in the hallway before class and goes in as soon as the doors open. He takes his seat and barely acknowledges her when she sits down next to him. There's this strange tension between them for the full duration of the class and he has to fight every urge to say something to ease it. But he can tell by her cold demeanor that the incident of yesterday is yet to be forgotten and he's better off not doing something more to irk her.

By Wednesday, they've officially gone a full 24 hours without saying more than 10 words to one another. Dan is pretty sure that he'd rather hear her full onslaught of insults than endure another hour of thick, wordless tension.

"Hey, we should probably work for at least an hour after class today," Dan says casually to her in the hallway where he spots Blair waiting for class.

She flicks her gaze to him. "Fine. I'm not going to Brooklyn though."

"Okay," Dan placates. "That's fine with me. You can choose where."

She lets out a breath. "I guess mine, I don't feel like dealing with the library."

Dan expected this response so he nods. "Works for me."

He spends the next hour of class and the car ride over to Blair's, trying to think of a way to get them back on track because clearly, this isn't working.

All he comes up with is a rush of apologies. "Look, I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable and what I should have just said was thank you. I know you don't think it's a big deal what you did, but I really appreciate what you did for Jenny. We both know that could have gone a completely different route that might have ended up with her even doing jail time, or at the very least paying a hefty fine for stealing. Maybe you did it because you saw she was in a bad place and made a huge mistake or maybe you just did it so she owes you or you can blackmail her, but I realized it doesn't really matter why you helped. I'm just grateful that you did."

She doesn't meet his eyes until after he's done speaking and he holds his breath, waiting to see if he's made things worse or better. With what she says next, he thinks he made it better. "Apology accepted. I'm sorry too, I suppose I may have overreacted a bit. Mostly I just was worried that if Jenny had to face trial the amount of eyeliner she wears would increase exponentially and the last thing the Upper East Side needs is for that to become a trend."

Dan laughs, "Well, I can agree with that. There does seem to be a correlation between the drama level in her life and the amount of eyeliner she wears."

"See? So it was a mere move to help the greater good." Blair smiles at him warmly and he feels an odd sensation take hold in his chest. "Should we get started?"

Dan is thankful for the reprieve so he nods and takes out their outline while Blair starts her laptop. By the time they finish their work on the presentation for the day, Dan feels like things have returned to normal. Or at least what can be considered normal for them. As he leaves Blair's that day, a scary realization crosses his mind.

He can't wait for class tomorrow and he's pretty sure up until their fight, he spent nearly every day looking forward to their study sessions and class time together. He thinks this might be his most frightening train of thought yet in these weird but strangely good past couple of months.

Friday afternoon, Dan and Blair decide to work on the project for the third consecutive day at her house. At least half an hour of work should put them ahead of schedule for their presentation date which is in two weeks time. As they step into the penthouse, Dan instantly spots a man he doesn't recognize in the living room. He's smiling widely and Dan seems to notice him before Blair does. But once she does, she's running.

"Daddy!" She squeals with delight and throws herself into his arms. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't miss my daughter's first tour of her future campus, could I?" He beams at her and as he does so, his eyes crinkle in that warm and friendly way that sort of reminds Dan of his own father's smile.

"Really? You're coming to Yale with me? I thought I had to go on my own since mom is too busy with the designs for her latest collection." Blair's face falls momentarily.

"Of course I wouldn't let you go alone, Blair Bear." His eyes turn to Dan. "Why don't you introduce me to your friend?"

Blair turns away from her father to face Dan, still smiling. The sight of her happiness does something strange to Dan and he feels an unfurling at the sight of her unguarded, grinning face. It's so, unlike her… He's never seen her look so incandescently joyful. All traces of girly evil looming beneath the surface have evaporated in that moment.

"Dan, this is my dad, Harold. Daddy, this is Dan. He's my partner for the project I told you about." Dan shakes Harold's hand as Blair introduces them.

"Dan, Blair tells me you've been great to work with so I'm very pleased to meet you." Harold rests a hand on Dan's shoulder, warmly. At his words, Dan glances at Blair who he swears blushes. "I believe I heard you have your sights set on Yale as well?"

"Yes, I do, sir." Dan nods. "If all goes as planned this semester I will be valedictorian, like Blair, and hopefully that will help secure my admission."

"Ah, you are just as devoted to your academics than as my daughter it seems. Will you be touring the college this weekend as well?" Harold inquires.

"I hope to, yes." Dan nods.

"How wonderful, perhaps Blair, Roman, and I will see you on campus."

Blair turns sharply, "Roman?"

"Yes, of course. He didn't want to miss such a big weekend for you either. He's checking into the hotel right now, I actually need to go meet him there. And then dinner if you get done with your work with Dan in time?" Harold looks questioningly between them.

His dinner offer seems to settle Blair's obvious previous annoyance and she smiles tightly. "Sure, I'm positive we'll be done in time." She looks to Dan for reassurance and he nods in accordance.

Harold looks to Dan and asks, "Would Dan like to come to dinner?"

"No, thank you. I wouldn't want to impose." Dan says politely before Blair can say anything.

"You would hardly be imposing," Harold insists to which Dan shakes his head.

"Thank you, but I'm okay. Besides, Blair's had to endure 5 days of my presence which is far too much already." He tries for a joke which doesn't make Blair smile and only causes a skeptical look to cross Harold's face. But at last, he nods and announces he will leave them to their project. Not before procuring a large stack of brochures from his duffel bag and handing them to Blair.

"The brochures you wanted to accompany your presentation." Harold states as Blair flips through them.

Blair hands a few to Dan, "I think this should give us an edge over the other groups, don't you?"

"Definitely," Dan nods eagerly. "Nothing in the assignment sheet mentioned or suggested handouts so this should gain Ms. McAllister's favor."

"Ah, the infamous Ms. McAllister," Harold remarks. "I suppose it turned out her pairing turned out better than you thought it would, huh Blair?"

"Dad, you know I don't like to admit to being wrong. So I think you really should be getting to the hotel, Roman probably could use your translation anyways. I'd hate to think of him getting lost in the city." She says it in a way that makes Dan thinks that is precisely what she would like. Then, she gently pushes Harold to the elevator.

"Blair, you know he's practically fluent in English. But you are right, he will be waiting." Harold turns back to wave to Dan. "It was great to meet you, Dan."

"Sorry about that," Blair says once she's returned from seeing her father off.

"There's nothing to apologize for. I'm sure that was a great surprise." Dan says, sliding into the chair beside her at the dining table.

"It was," Blair states simply.

"He lives in France right?"

Blair nods, "With his partner, _Roman_." She exaggerates the syllable of his name, dragging them out in annoyance.

"He can't be that bad, can he?" Dan suggests.

Blair lets out a breath. "He's fine, I guess. It's just he'll sort of always be the person that broke up my family. No matter how sweet he is to me or how many boxes macarons he gives me at Christmas."

"I can get that. Jenny and I hate Alexander, my mom's boyfriend and to be honest, we aren't sure of the full story of my parent's separation but it makes it easier to have someone to blame." Dan and Blair's eyes momentarily, sharing a look of understanding.

"Exactly." Then, she adds after a pause. "Well, I guess you'll probably meet Roman this weekend and you can give me your unbiased opinion."

Dan is confused for a moment and then remembers the Yale college visit. "Right… If I go."

"You might not?" Blair furrows her brow. "You just said you were?"

Dan exhales. "I'm still not sure. My dad got an offer to play another reunion show since the last one was such a hit and it's this weekend. I think he should do it because... I don't know, I feel like he already gave up so much for me and Jenny. Besides, Yale is always out there, I can go another weekend."

"But this weekend is the only weekend with specific activities for prospective students. And meeting the dean of admissions could really help you secure your spot." Blair looks wary of his casual attitude. "You should go."

"We'll see. I just don't know if it'll work out. Anyways, let's get started." Dan diverts the topic, uncomfortable under her scrutiny. Besides, he knows it's not something Blair would understand. To her, nothing can stand in the way of her going to Yale. Even if she had no train, or car, or any other reasonable method of transportation she would get to Yale, even by foot. So he doesn't exactly expect her to get his laidback view of it.

She goes along with his suggestion of starting on the project and the subject of Yale is avoided, until they've wrapped up.

"You could always go with us," Blair says idly as Dan is closing his notebook.

"Huh?" He looks up, blinking at her.

"To Yale, this weekend. Harold and Roman rented an SUV for the weekend, I know _so_ suburban," She rolls her eyes. "But the point is, I'm sure there'd be room for you. Then your dad can still play his show and you don't have to miss out on the visit."

He looks at her, skeptically. "I don't know, Blair. Won't that be sort of weird?"

"What would be weird about tagging along with me and my dad and the man he left my family for? Would it really be weirder than spending the past two months with your nemesis?" She raises her eyebrows.

"I don't know that I'd say you were my nemesis. Seems a bit extreme." Dan frowns. "Besides, I thought we were past being sworn enemies."

"Come on, Humphrey, just accept my offer politely and be ready tomorrow by 8 AM." There's no room for argument left in her statement so Dan just nods, still unbelieving.

"Okay, but let me know if your dad and Roman aren't okay with it." He adds as an afterthought.

Blair gives him a sideways look. "They will be thrilled with it, I guarantee you. They'll probably buy you a Yale sweatshirt and make you take a photo with them to commemorate the day. Trust me."

"Well, thanks, Blair. I appreciate it." Dan says as he stands to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"8 AM, don't be late. I expect you to be standing outside, ready to hop in the soccer mom car promptly. Yale waits for no one!"

* * *

 **So these two are off to Yale and the next chapter will be in Blair's perspective.**

 **I know on the show they didn't do the college visit until their senior year but I always found that a bit delayed so I decided to have them visit in their junior year. Plus, I love the idea of Dan and Blair at Yale together, even if just for a day.**

 **I have a bit of the next chapter written already so I should be able to update by next Friday. Thanks so much for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

As the elevator doors close, Blair feels the edges of her mouth tugged up into a smile and she brings her fingers to her lips. The amount of times she has smiled in Dan Humphrey's presence, or worse yet because of Dan Humphrey's presence, has reached a startlingly high number. She thinks about calling a town car to take her to the Ostroff Center because certainly, the only cause for this change has to be some sort of temporary insanity. Because why else would she have invited Dan Humphrey to go to Yale, her Yale, tomorrow? She essentially just signed up for a full day of Dan Humphrey. On a Saturday, no less, and completely free of any sort of academic benefit.

Wait, she did already go to a concert with him for fun, so does that mean she lost her mind long ago? She's not sure and she realizes she can't think any further about this without inducing an existential crisis. Because if anything would cause one, it's finding out that you enjoy Dan Humphrey's company and that you may just very well like him. Okay, too much, backtrack Blair. She marches up the stairs into her bedroom, desperate for a distraction. Then, she remembers her dinner plans with her father and Roman so she searches her closet and finds herself distracted by the swaths of fabric.

She finds herself only mildly annoyed with Roman's being there, in fact, multiple times during the evening she actually thinks he might be quite delightful. Until her dad looks over lovingly at him instead of paying attention properly to her and then she's irritated all over again. But maybe she should be happy he's so in love because being in love is rather wonderful. _Not_ that she would know. She wonders idly if her dad really did like Dan and for some reason, it's important to her that he does. She furrows her brow, remembering that she forgot to tell Dan not to wear flannel. Damn, now he will show up in some lumberjack style shirt and the first time she ever steps foot on Yale's campus will be in the company of a hipster. What has she done? Is it too late to retract her invitation? Yes, _far_ too late, Grace Kelly would never retract a social invitation so therefore Blair Waldorf shall not either.

Besides, Dan Humphrey could actually help her chances of getting in. "See Dean, I am very charitable and in fact, take it upon myself to befriend scholarship students from Brooklyn." Then, she tries on the statement, just to see how it sounds.

 _Dan Humphrey is my friend._

It's weird, it's foreign, yet somehow it's not. It feels like what she should have been saying all along.

But then, she remembers the way he reached out to her when he told her that he thought she was a good person. Her stomach had done an unnerving flip flop and she couldn't take the way he was looking at her. The way his eyes had gone soft and the way they searched her face, as though he was trying to peer into the depths of her soul. This is why she hates making friends or letting anyone in. It's uncomfortable and far too risky. Because there's no way he'd like what he would find simmering below the surface. All that lies beneath her well-maintained exterior is a whole lot of insecurity which is far from attractive.

Not that she wants Dan Humphrey to find her attractive. Because of course not.

She unzips her dress and climbs into a silk pajama set. Then she crawls into bed and thinks about putting on an Audrey Hepburn movie, to get the thoughts of Dan out of her head. But she doesn't. Instead, she does what she absolutely should not. Blair falls asleep to the memory of a boy from Brooklyn looking at her like she meant something.

"Blair, darling," Blair wakes to a sun-soaked room and the sound of her mother's shrill voice. "Your father will be here an hour, you better start getting ready."

Blair sits up, pulling her sleep mask off her forehead. "Good morning to you too mother."

Her mother sits down at the edge of the bed and pats her arm. "I am so sorry I won't be there for your first visit to Yale. But you'll have more fun with your father and Roman anyways. That always was more of your father's activity. Oh and also, when he called he mentioned you three would be picking up your friend in Brooklyn. Please tell me I misheard him."

Blair winces, remembering. "Dan is coming. I invited him."

Her mother frowns, "Interesting. Unexpected, really, I suppose." She seems to not know what else to say for a moment until she starts to pull Blair up. "Come on, then. Go get ready, you wouldn't want Daniel to see you in this state. We really should schedule you for a hair appointment."

Touching her hair self consciously, she says, "Thank you, mother, for the suggestion." She climbs out of bed and her mother kisses her on the cheek and says goodbye.

Searching her closet for an outfit that says, _I'm very admissible yet not pretentious_ , Blair scowls. There's just nothing quite right. Until her eyes land on a grey checked blazer. She pairs it with a ribbed white top and black button front skirt. Adding a pair of tights for a bit of modesty that she hopes the admissions board would appreciate, and stepping into her oxford pumps, she deems herself Yale-ready and heads out of her bedroom.

Her father and Roman are waiting downstairs in their sporty yet totally family-oriented SUV rental car. They wave enthusiastically as she steps out of the lobby doors and she can't decide if she's embarrassed or pleased. She tells them Dan's address and then realizes she didn't even have to glance at her phone to be able to recite the Brooklyn digits. She's fairly certain a horrified look remains etched across her face as they journey across the bridge and into an all too familiar realm. Dan is waiting outside, just like she instructed him to when they pull up at 8 AM. She feels her heart palpitate momentarily at the sight of him and then reassures herself the feeling is probably just due to anxiety about Yale.

"You didn't wear flannel," Blair notes, surprised as Dan opens the car door to reveal a well-tailored blazer over a tee shirt and dark denim.

"No, of course not. You'd kick me out of the car. Don't you think I know that by now, Waldorf?" The way he says it makes Blair feel like no one has ever known her better, even though it was just an off-hand remark. But still, she relishes the knowing smirk on his face, maybe a little too much.

"Lovely to see you again, Daniel." Harold calls from the driver's seat. "This is Roman, Roman, this is Daniel who Blair has told you so much about."

"Only that you have terrible taste in clothing and really need hair product," Blair whispers to Dan trying to ignore the burning sensation in her cheeks. She really wishes her dad would stop saying that she talks about Dan because she's certain she rarely does unless she really has to. Which happens to be a lot lately only because of their project.

"I'd expect nothing less," Dan says back. Then he calls upfront, "Nice to meet you, Roman. Thank you, both for letting me tag along."

"Of course, we couldn't let you miss this. It's Yale!" Harold says ecstatically, pride in his voice. Blair's pretty sure the only person equally passionate about the Ivy League has to be her dad. He did promise to buy her a bulldog as soon as her acceptance letter arrives.

"Have you showed him the itinerary, Blair?" Harold asks, driving towards the freeway.

"You made an itinerary?" Dan snorts, quietly enough that the front seat can't hear.

"Shut up, of course, I did. Some of us take our higher education plans quite seriously." Then, she raises her voice. "Not yet, dad, I'll do that now." Then she turns back to Dan. "I have to make an adjustment first. 8:10 AM, kick Dan Humphrey out of the car."

"8:11 AM, turn around to pick Dan Humphrey back because kicking him out of the car was not very Yale-like." Dan responds.

Blair holds back a laugh, feeling annoyed by his cleverness. "Here." She hands him the itinerary. "Be careful, I don't want your syrupy hands staining my only copy."

"When have I ever had syrup on my hands? Just because the Humphrey's have a penchant for breakfast foods, doesn't mean we go around with the evidence coating our exteriors." Dan replies, sounding offended.

"Ew, I don't want to know about anything coating your exterior." Blair wrinkles her nose.

Dan rolls his eyes and looks down at the itinerary.

"As you can see, we will mostly be on our own for the afternoon. That's when my dad will be meeting with the alumni association and showing Roman around. I thought we could tour the library and perhaps the dorms which I am not particularly excited about living in. Ugh, what if I get Nelly Yuki as my roommate?"

"You could get assigned a single." Dan reminds her.

"Dan, I got paired with _you_ for a semester-long project, I'm not going to blithely assume I'll get what I want in college."

"Well, you don't seem to be too unhappy with that assignment given that you invited me to be here today, do you? So maybe you and Nelly will be best friends by the end of the semester if you end up being roommates."

"Are you saying you and I are best friends?" Blair teases.

"No, of course not." Dan says far too quickly, causing Blair to laugh.

"Damn, I'll have to return the necklace from Claire's I bought you. It was one of those half-heart ones that says 'Best' on one and then 'Friends' on the other."

"Like you would ever step foot in a Claire's. It would be from Tiffany's, obviously." Dan corrects and Blair is pleased that he knows that. She can't think of anything witty to say back because she's now distracted by her own thoughts. So instead she snatches back the itinerary and smooths it out before tucking it back in her folder.

Her dad and Roman soon take over the conversation and she feels like the next two hours Dan is being interviewed by them. They ask him everything from his parents occupations to his sister's ambitions, he says fashion designer but Blair thinks he should have said 'Ruining Blair Waldorf's life.' She keeps waiting to see irritation take hold on his face from all the questioning but it never does. In fact, he looks somewhat happy to be chatting with them. So she chimes in every now and then and pretends Dan Humphrey didn't use to be her nemesis.

They arrive at Yale just a little over 2 hours after departing Brooklyn and it's every bit as magical as Blair hoped it would be. She practically skips across the campus as she takes in her future home. She always felt she was destined for this place and stepping across the cobblestone, she knows she was right.

"Isn't it the most amazing place you've ever been?" She asks Dan, wonder in her eyes.

"Yeah," He breathes. "It's pretty incredible."

She has this weird urge to squeeze his hand just then, but she doesn't. Because that would be weird. So instead she clutches her leather bound folder tighter to her chest and takes it all in.

The morning goes by in a rush. They report to the scheduled meeting place for the beginning of the seminar in which an advisor goes over Yale's history, principles, and the admission process. They then have a chance to speak one on one with the dean of admissions and even though Blair has been rehearsing exactly what she'd say since she could speak, she finds herself more nervous than she expected. As they sit in the waiting room, Dan seems to catch on to this because he unexpectedly places his hand on her arm and says, "I'm sure if anyone could be accepted on the spot, it's Blair Waldorf. So relax, you'll do great."

She stares down at his hand for a moment and then looks up and gives him an appreciative look. "Thanks," She tries to add, "You too," But it ends up coming out like a question.

She's finally called in and by the time the brief interview is over, she thinks it went rather well. She didn't accidentally kiss the Dean which she totally had a nightmare about so that in itself makes it a success. When she comes back into the lobby, Dan has a questioning look on her face. She answers it, "I think it went well. They said, 'Yale would be pleased to have a student like Blair Waldorf attend and we look forward to reading over your application.' But they probably say that to everyone."

"Well, I guess I'll find out. I'm next." Dan stands up, his name being called.

"Good luck," Blair says with feeling before he goes through the door into the dean's office.

Blair finds herself tapping her foot as she waits, a habit she hates in others. But she's oddly nervous for Dan and somehow has become invested in his pending acceptance into Yale. When he finally comes out and his face looks pleased, she breathes a sigh of relief. "I take it went okay?"

"I think so, or then again maybe they give everyone one hope as you suggested. He didn't say the same thing verbatim but he did say that 'Dan Humphrey would make an excellent student at Yale and he hopes that I'll receive an acceptance letter sooner rather than later."

"Oh my god," Blair freezes after they exit the office doors. "I think that's better than what he said to me. Right? That's totally better and more reassuring."

Dan laughs, "No, it's not. If anything it's equally reassuring."

Her face must still be full of panic because he stops laughing. "Blair, I promise, if I get into Yale then you definitely will. Come on, what was next on the itinerary? Touring the dorms right?" He doesn't wait for an answer and instead pulls her by the arm. She's still too stricken to respond so she just lets him guide her, mutely.

She's calmed down a bit by the time they reach the colleges, namely Pierson, the one she wants to be assigned to. "Do you think we'll be assigned to the same college?" She asks Dan as they step through the entrance.

"Thanks for assuming, I'll get in." Dan remarks in surprise and she gives him a look to say, don't make me rethink that. "I don't know, but I bet if we did you would demand a switch in an instant. You'd have your lawyers all over it. And your psychologist, right?"

"Not to mention my academic advisor," She smirks at him. Then she says, "Kidding. It might be kind of fun being in the same one as you. In fact, I might get bored from all the studying and need a form of entertainment. Torturing you never ceases to delight me."

"Of course it doesn't," Dan laughs. "Why is Pierson the best again?" He asks as they wander through.

Blair is well prepared for this question and by the time she finishes telling him all the reasons, the first and foremost being the architecture. She tells him that history is the foundation of Yale and for that reason, she wants to be placed in one of the old yet renovated colleges instead of the new. He just nods along mostly and by the time they've explored them all, she thinks she has him convinced.

"Library now, right?" Dan asks when they've concluded their tour.

"Yes, and I must say, I appreciate your dedication to the itinerary," Blair notes as they walk the path toward the Beinecke Library.

"I can't wait to see the book tower. The rare book collection is one of the main reasons why I want to go to Yale." Dan says as they approach.

"Really? I did always wonder why Yale for you. Didn't you want to go to Dartmouth at one point?"

"I didn't know you knew that." Dan looks at her in surprise. "But yeah, briefly. Then, I did more research and Yale sort of won me over."

"Well, here it is," Blair says as they push open the doors to the library. Once they reach the book tower, they both stare up in awe. "It is pretty amazing. I could see why it would make you want to apply."

"Did you know it has over 180,000 rare books?" Dan asks as his eyes stay fixed on the glass-encased books before them.

"I did. But it's still a cool fact." She adds when he looks a little disappointed that she already knew. "Come on, let's go look at the exhibits."

It's nearing the time they set to meet up with Harold and Roman for lunch but they have just enough time left to search the French History aisle of the library. Blair leads the way through the aisle, running her finger over the books idly as Dan trails behind. As they both scan the titles, no real particular book in mind, Blair turns to Dan.

"It's sort of odd," She begins, catching Dan's attention. "How completely normal it feels to be on Yale's campus in the library on a Saturday with Dan Humphrey."

"And to not be complaining about it?" Dan suggests, sitting down against the shelves. Blair follows suit, smoothing out her skirt as she sits beside him.

"Exactly. Like when did that happen?" Blair laughs, resting her head back gently on the books.

"Probably about the time when you realized the only way we would ever get through this project was by working together and not against one another."

Blair tilts her head. "I guess. Or you theory was right and all that pretending to be nice really did trick me into actually being nice to you."

"Or… It's just that you were actually nice all along." Dan meets her eyes and she fights the urge to close herself off with some scathing remark like last time he broached this subject. Dan seems to sense this because he winces and says, "Sorry, I know we agreed to not press on that subject. Let's stick with that the niceness comes from the ulterior motive of wanting to get a good grade."

"Dan," Blair begins, softening. "That's not it at all. Or I mean, maybe at first it was but…" She doesn't need to finish because Dan just says he knows.

"You really do surprise me, sometimes." He says next.

"How so?" Blair challenges.

Dan begins, a faint smile on his lips, "Inviting me here, going to my dad's concert, and you know, the thing with Jenny and the dress."

Blair just nods and they sit in silence for the next 5 minutes, only a small gap between them. Blair's mind is elsewhere, she keeps going back to that day he reached out to her and said he thought she was a good person. She finally lets herself say the words. "I did it because of you."

Dan seems taken aback by the sudden break of their companionable silence. So Blair supplies, "The dress." before continuing, "I kept imagining your face if I sold Jenny out to Hazel. You'd make that judgey, disappointed expression, you know the one, don't deny it. It's the way you always looked at me before all of this." She gestures to the books in front of them, referring vaguely to the project. Then, drops her voice an octave, "I just didn't want you to look at me like that ever again."

Dan's brown eyes look at her so softly she can barely maintain eye contact. "Blair," When he says her name like that, she can't take it anymore. Her eyes drop to the ground and she doesn't even realize he's filled the distance between them. Her lips respond to the feel of his against them. It's tentative and delicate, but once Blair realizes what they are doing, she kisses him more urgently. She brings her hand to his shoulder and feels his hand come to her cheek. She refuses to question the fact that she's kissing Dan Humphrey. She won't let her own thoughts ruin this moment. The moment in which everything has changed. So she just keeps her eyes closed, and pulls him in closer.

* * *

 **TBC**

 **Expect another update by next Monday. Thank you for reading if you're still with this story! I really do appreciate each review and reader :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**It's about time I update this story. Short(ish) chapter because I need to switch POV's to progress the story. If you didn't give up on this story during that hiatus, I am immensely grateful.**

* * *

Kissing Blair Waldorf was not on the itinerary for today. Or at least not on the copy that Dan scanned over on the car ride over. Yet somehow, it happened.

Throughout the rest of the day, the memory keeps replaying in his mind. Somehow the shock or horror still hasn't quite set in that he kissed Blair, former Queen of the Upper East Side, his ex-girlfriend's best friend, his former rival… He keeps waiting but it never happens. Instead, all he can think about is how much he wants to do it again.

As for the reason he kissed her, he amounts it to what she said right before. Prior to her revelation, he had never even considered that Blair cared at all what he thought of her. But when the words fell from her lips, he realized that he actually matters to Blair Waldorf. As more than a pawn in a game. As more than a study partner. He didn't know how to define what he meant exactly, but what mattered was that he did. And she meant something to him.

What eventually broke apart their kiss was a student, wandering down the aisle and clearing his throat awkwardly. As they pulled away, breathlessly, the looked up into the horn-rimmed glasses eyes clad of a guy wearing a Yale sweatshirt and seeming perturbed. He awkwardly lingered as they broke apart.

Dan muttered a sorry as he and Blair stood up. As they walked out of the library, neither of them said anything until Blair pointed out that they were due to meet Harold and Roman in the courtyard in 5 minutes. The two men were waiting, eager expressions and a slew of questions ready for them as soon as they were rejoined. It might seem like the kiss had never happened at all, if it wasn't for the way it lingered in his mind and the way he and Blair's eyes found their way to each other and shy glances exchanged for the rest of the afternoon.

He tries to catch her eye now in the car but she keeps her gaze fixedly on the window. He's too busy analyzing the potential repercussions for the kiss to realize that they're home. Then, he's waving goodbye and watching as the car pulls away.

"I think I kissed Blair Waldorf and I liked it," Dan says dazedly as he walks into the loft that night. His dad sets down the instruments he was unpacking, presumably from tonight's show, and scans Dan's face. Before Rufus can speak, Jenny's voice breaks through the loft.

"Ew! Spare me the details!" She wrinkles her nose as she walks out of the hallway into the living room. "I just ate and would rather not have my lettuce wrap make a reappearance." She mimes gagging before returning to her bedroom.

"Well, that is certainly a revelation," Rufus says at last. "I guess I have a few questions. When? How? Who kissed who?"

Dan sits and scrubs a hand over his face. "At Yale today. I definitely kissed her, not the other way around."

"But she kissed you back?"

Dan nods.

"Hm, did you two talk about it?" Rufus furrows his brow.

"No, we had to meet her dad and Roman for lunch and then we never had a chance to talk about it. I just don't know what happens from here. I mean, should I call her?"

"Ugh," Jenny groans and stalks back out from the living room. "Do not call her. I'd really rather not be giving you girl advice but seriously don't. What are you going to say?"

"I don't know but it seems like the polite thing to do." Dan shrugs.

Jenny laughs, "Dan, tell me again how you got Serena van der Woodsen to date you. Wait," She covers her face. "Don't tell me that. But trust me, calling her will be awkward. Here's what you're going to do..."

Dan leans forward from where he sits, trying to soak in Jenny's advice.

"First, just chill. Stop overanalyzing. I can practically hear you thinking. Second, be cool and act normal. You have class with her tomorrow so be friendly but not clingy. If it's going to happen again, it will. And if not, well is that really something you want to talk about right before you present this presentation you've spent all semester working your ass off over?" Jenny raises her eyebrows.

"Language, Jenny." Rufus interrupts.

Dan mulls over Jenny's word and has to admit, she has a point. He does have a tendency to overthink things which almost never bodes well. Maybe playing it cool is the best option, besides he doesn't want to risk ruining their project when it's nearly over. "Okay," He breathes out. "I'll chill or whatever it is you call it."

"Good," Jenny nods. "Now, I've done my good deed for the day so if you'll excuse me…"

Playing it cool is harder than Dan thinks. He practically prickles all day as he waits to see her in sixth period. His eyes scan the hallways for her face, without her permission. It's all he can do to not text her or call her, both of which were strictly prohibited by Jenny.

Normal, be normal, he tells himself as he stands just outside of the classroom that afternoon. He spots her and lets out a breath of relief at the sight of her. Part of him worried she wouldn't show up because she was so horrified by the kiss. Yesterday he was confident she had kissed him back but as the hours passed, he became less certain.

"Hey," He says as she approaches. He leans back against the lockers but is further than anticipated so he nearly falls and has to right himself, dropping a book in the process.

Blair smirks, "Smooth, Humphrey." She kicks the book closer to him with the pointed toe of her heels. His heart sinks at hearing her old nickname for him resurface. Until he looks up, book in hand, and sees the smile on her face. It's most definitely not a smile she would have given him pre-project. Or pre-Yale? He's not sure, but either way he thinks the warm, open expression on her face is a good sign.

"How'd you dad's show go?" Her question takes him by surprise and it must show because she clarifies. "The concert he played this weekend?"

"Right," Dan nods. "Well, I guess. Jenny was there and said he had groupies which was actually pretty horrifying to hear but I guess that means he's not that washed up."

Blair laughs, "Sounds like he's not. So probably a good thing you didn't go?"

"Definitely a good thing. I had a much better time with you at Yale than I would have watching 40-somethings relive their youth by swooning over my dad."

The door beside them creaks as Ms. McAllister opens it to let in her students. Before Blair walks through the door, she turns back and says, "I had a good time too."

A smile crosses Dan's face as he follows her into the classroom.

* * *

 **One more chapter to go then this story is finished at last. Thank you so much for reading and enduring the delays! And to those of you that review, you are so motivating so thank you so much for your encouragement!**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: So turns out this isn't the last chapter. It seems the general consensus is that you guys don't want this story to end which I had no idea prior to reading your comments on the last chapter. I had originally planned for this just to be a short story set during Dan and Blair's junior year. But I did (like many of you) love the idea of following them along to Yale. After hearing all of your feedback and rereading the ending I had written, that there was still more story to tell.**

 **Therefore, I am sort of splitting this story into two parts. The next chapter will be the end of Part One and will set up Part Two (which will take place at Yale.) I have another story or two I want to publish first before delving into Part Two and also that will give me time to plan it out. Suggestions are welcome to what exactly you want to see in the Yale-era! I have a vague idea but want to make sure I get it right. Thank you so much for the feedback :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Blair feels a flood of relief at the sight of a very floundering Humphrey in the hallway before sixth period. She had spent the rest of her weekend and whole morning agonizing seeing him after the kiss. She felt thrown off and unable to be normal, whatever that meant. She was torn between resuming her old ways and being bitchy to him or being like she was at Yale, which she could only describe as vulnerable. The internal debate had led her to feeling completely un-Blair-like.

She had waved to Nelly Yuki in the hallway earlier, why else other than that the kiss had messed with her head? Blair Waldorf did not wave. And certainly not to Nelly Yuki.

So seeing Dan try to play it cool and subsequently stumble and drop his books made her feel like less of a clueless tween with her first crush, _not_ that she had a crush on Dan. It gave her the upperhand, which was what she needed to feel in the moment. And maybe calling him by his old nickname helped a little.

But the crestfallen expression on his face at the sound had done something funny to Blair's stomach and her heart, maybe. So instead of trying for bitchy or vulnerable, she went for something in between. Admitting she had a good time too that day was hard but the smile on his face made it worth the admission.

The hardest part of the whole post-kiss was still to come. She planned to meet with Serena after school that day. Blair wouldn't sink to Serena's level and let her find out about it the way Blair had found out about Serena and Nate last year. Even if the kiss was never going to happen again, Serena deserved to know. Especially after Blair had always made such a show of despising Dan.

Blair can't help but stall once she's actually face to face with Serena. She decides the best way to do this perhaps is over drinks, plying Serena with alcohol has always proven to be helpful for most of Blair's plans. Except for ones that involve keeping her then-boyfriend faithful. But that's irrelevant, for now.

Once Serena's on her second cocktail, smiling easily at Blair from the adjacent bar stool at The Lobby, Blair decides it's time. And when Serena asks how the project with Dan has been going, she knows she has to say it now or she never will.

"About that…" Blair's eyes drift down to her dirty martini and she takes a sip.

"What?" Serena laughs, "Don't tell me, you and Dan's rivalry has gotten even worse."

"I definitely wouldn't say that." Blair taps her glass, nervously. "In fact, it's better. We're better, now."

Serena grins, baring her pearlescent teeth, her eyes crinkled at the edges with genuine happiness. Blair hates this next part.

"We kissed, S." Blair looks up into her eyes. "I'm sorry."

The smile falls from Serena's face so fast, Blair thinks it was never there at all. It's complete silence and Blair tries to put her hand on Serena's arm but her best friend flinches. "Who kissed who?" Serena asks suddenly.

"Do you really want to know that?" Blair responds.

"So Dan kissed you, obviously." Serena looks away, briefly. "You wouldn't ask that if you had kissed him."

"I'm sorry, Serena. I know it's weird and you must be mad-"

"I'm not mad," Serena says cuttingly.

"Why say you're not mad when you clearly are?" Blair yells in frustration.

"I'm not mad." Serena repeats. "Or at least I know I don't have the right to be. But it's just hard to accept that we've essentially swapped boyfriends."

Blair bristles, "Dan is not my boyfriend."

"But you want him to be," Serena says, causing Blair to flinch.

"No, I don't." Blair replies, maybe a little too quickly.

Serena's tone softens, a little. "At the very least you want to kiss him again. Because let's face it, you wouldn't be telling me that you guys kissed if it was just one kiss. You could keep to yourself. But not if you want it to be more."

At that Blair has to look away, because she knows Serena is right. Until she realizes something. "Wait, you said we swapped boyfriends. You meant because you and Nate hooked up that one time right? Or is there something you need to tell me?" She can't help but inflict a bit of iciness into her tone. The hurt from that betrayal never seems to feel any less fresh, no matter how long it's been.

"Well, you know how I said Nate and I had been studying together?" Serena asks with a tentative note in her voice.

"Actually, you said you were tutoring him." Blair corrects her.

"Right, same thing." Serena shrugs. "Anyways, we started spending more time together after that and it just sort of happened."

"What sort of happened?" Blair knows but she needs to hear it anyways.

"We've been seeing each other. We haven't put a label on it or anything but I don't know, it's just like something between us that's always been there and I can't fight it anymore." Serena admits.

Blair's eyebrows raise, automatically and she shakes her head a little. "Right, well that's that then. I'm happy for you two." She says it painfully slowly.

"B," Serena reaches out, just like Blair had moments before. She didn't anticipate the tables turning like this. Even if she had an inkling when she first heard about these study sessions, it doesn't make it any less of a blow to imagine them together now, officially.

The thing is, she doesn't want Nate, not now and maybe not ever. She always just loved the idea of Nate. How perfect it all was, so cookie cutter. But Nate was always her Nate. Sharing him with Serena had never felt right. Yet, Dan had been Serena's. She supposed Serena was right, they did just essentially swap boyfriends. Even if just for a moment in the Yale library.

"I'm so sorry." Serena says, earnestly.

"Don't be," Blair tries to smile but doesn't quite succeed. "I'm glad you told me. Who am I to judge? Even if I do never kiss Dan again."

"I have a feeling you will," Serena exhales and swirls her drink around. After that, they try to make the best of the rest of the night but it's hard. Blair knows their friendship will survive this, it's survived much worse. But right now, she just wants to be alone. To process, so she bids Serena goodnight and heads home.

The following day, she and Dan have planned to rehearse their presentation which is scheduled for Thursday. She's antsy all day, it's the first time they'll be completely alone again since Yale. She's grateful that she suggested they rehearse at her place because being in her own territory makes her feel in control. Plus, they'll have a buffer that way. She arranged for Dorota to listen to their presentation rehearsal, in case things get awkward. It's not like Dorota will really have much criticism. At least, she hopes not.

Blair reorders her notecards and strides over to the whiteboard they pulled over and projected the PowerPoint onto. She glances to Dan and he nods. "Okay Dorota, we're ready for you!"

The maid bustles into the living room, all eager and ready to critique. Dorota takes her seat on the couch opposite the whiteboard where Blair and Dan stand on opposite side.

"The French Occupation: A time of devastation and loss. While many know the great tragedy of the actual war, we have decided to emphasize and educate on the impact the German occupation of France had on the people, the land, and the economy." Blair concludes the introduction and lets Dan take over, clicking to the next slide with the little remote before he starts speaking.

"We'll start by giving a brief overview of the Occupation," Dan begins and Blair looks to Dorota. She can't help but giggle a little. Dorota has a pen in hand and notebook across her lap. She's squinting at Dan and making little "hm" noises here and there. It looks like she's actually taking notes, Blair notices. _What could she possibly be noting?_ How many times Dan makes eye contact with his audience? Which Blair has noticed could be improved upon.

Blair realizes it's gone silent and now Dorota is staring at her expectantly as well as Dan and she realizes it's her turn again. It's actually quite hard to take this seriously now that she's just spent the past two minutes analyzing Dorota analyzing them. But she manages.

In total, their presentation is 16 minutes, just one minute over the time requirement set by Ms. McAllister. She mentally notes that they'll need to be more conscious of the time when they actually present on Thursday, one minute will have to be shaved off. Otherwise, Ms. McAllister will cut her off with a bell, like she did to the students who went overtime today.

"So, Dorota, what did you think?" Blair asks once they've turned off the PowerPoint.

"Well, Ms. Blair… You look beautiful as always." Dorota beams at her but then turns to Dan, wrinkle across her face. "Mister Dan, on otherhand, need work. Tee shirt give vibe that you don't care."

Blair laughs at Dan's taken aback expression. "Dorota, I don't think our appearance is part of the grading criteria. Besides, this is just practice."

"Ms. Blair, you always say practice no practice perfect all that matters." Dorota laments. "But I go on. I thought introduction very good. Not too long. Brief, how you say? Overlook?"

"Overview," Blair corrects.

"Overview," Dorota repeats, slowly. "Good, very easy to understand." Dorota looks back down at her notes. "But mister Dan, you barely make eye contact. You look down at notecard whole time. Or at Ms. Blair, you stare too much."

"I wasn't staring at Blair," Dan sounds defensive. "I was looking at her for direction, we are partners."

"Look at your class, your teacher. No down at notecards. Make you look nervous and insecure." Dorota shakes her head. "Be confident like Ms. Blair."

"Well," Blair begins, a little hesitantly. "She might have a point. You could rely a little less on the notecards."

"I guess," Dan amends.

"I'll help you memorize them," Blair offers. "We'll go over it after this and at lunch tomorrow and after school. By then, you won't need them."

"And your notecards?" Dan asks.

"I won't need them either by Thursday. It'll give us the edge over the other presentations. Besides, you never know Nelly Yuki might try to sabotage us by stealing the notecards, best not to rely on them."

Dan laughs, "Do you really think she would? I doubt she cares that much."

Blair looks at him, very seriously, "Of course she would. She wants me out of the running for Yale. I just know it."

"Whatever you say." He turns to Dorota. "Any other criticisms?"

"End presentation in flourish." Dorota announces.

"Flourish?" Blair echoes. "Where did you even learn that word?"

"I hear on Sex and The City." Dorota seems to reminisce about the episode for a moment. "Anyway, boring end. Do more."

"Like what?" Blair furrows her brow.

"Don't know. Be flourish." Dorota shrugs.

"Dorota, flourish isn't something you _are_. It's a verb or a noun, not an adjective. Nevermind," Blair says after seeing Dorota's confused face. "We will work on it. Thank you Dorota for your input, we do appreciate it."

By Thursday, Blair knows she won't even have to glance at the PowerPoint nor use notecards during the presentation. In fact, the information is so burned into her brain that she thinks it'll take years to forget, if not decades. The same goes for Dan. She quizzed him endlessly until she felt confident they were both practically experts on the subject matter. So even though Dan is currently clicking his pen nervously as they stand in the hallway waiting, Blair has never felt calmer.

"Will you stop that?" She says from beside Dan, gesturing to the pen. "You'll rattle me and I am positively blissful at the moment."

"How can you be so calm? Did you forget how much of our grade is impacted by this? Because you drilled that fact into my head so hard that I can't relax until I know we aced it." Dan looks so panicked Blair feels a little bad for being so hard on him throughout this project. Even if she was friendly or maybe more than friendly if you factored in the kiss, she didn't let her academic dedication slip.

"Because I know that it'll go well. We practiced so many times, I'd feel confident giving this presentation to the board of admissions of Yale, even." Blair articulates.

Dan shakes his head. "Well at least one of us is confident."

"Remember what Dorota said, be confident." Blair reminds him with a nudge on the arm as Ms. McAllister opens the classroom door.

"Just like Ms. Blair," Dan mocks Dorota's accent with a small laugh and Blair is happy she relaxed him, even if it's only a little.

They're up first for presentations today. Blair volunteered so they could get it over with. She could sense Dan kept psyching himself out and the last thing she needed was a mid-presentation meltdown.

"Ready?" She whispers as they stand at the front of the class and finish projecting the PowerPoint onto the screen.

He nods, nervously. She sees a trail of sweat appearing across his forehead and she really hopes he doesn't ramble like he does when he's normally nervous.

"Here, pass these out." She hands him the stack of brochures and he looks happy to have something to distract him momentarily.

"We have educational brochures imported from France to accompany our presentation," Blair explains aloud to the class and to Ms. McAllister as Dan hands one to each student. She cheers inwardly as she sees the dismayed look on Nelly Yuki's face. She can practically hear the glasses-sporting girl chiding herself for not thinking of that.

Blair 1, Nelly Yuki 0.

Dan returns to the front, standing on the other side of the screen and Blair smiles at him encouragingly before beginning the introduction. The small smile he gives her in return makes her feel even better about what's about to happen.

"In conclusion, the very losses the country endured during their prolonged occupation, in fact, made the country stronger. By coming together as one, the people rebuilt France to become what it is today." Blair beams at the classroom, clicking off the PowerPoint and nodding as a symbol to the end of the presentation.

When Blair had initially imagined the end of the presentation, she feared students might boo her due to the fact that she was no longer Blair Waldorf, their queen, and now Blair Waldorf, that girl that got dumped by two guys in one day. But just now, she's proven wrong as everyone politely claps, even Nelly Yuki and most of all, Ms. McAllister who she's pretty sure is smiling, a rare sight.

The next group is called to the front and Dan and Blair return to their seats. She whispers to him, "See, I knew you wouldn't let me down."

"I didn't," Dan says. "But thanks. You were great too."

"Worthy of an A for sure." Blair nods before returning her attention to the other group.

At the end of class, as the two pass by their teacher's desk, she halts them. "Dan, Blair. A brief word."

Blair's heart stops, she thought they did so well. Ms. McAllister had seemed happy, hadn't she?

"Yes?" Blair asks nervously.

"I just wanted to say, you two exceeded my expectations today. You should expect a good report once the grade's come out next week. I hope you see now why I paired you two together." Ms. McAllister says, alleviating all of Blair's worries.

"Oh," Blair says, surprised by the positive feedback. "Thank you." Dan echoes a thank you as well before Blair continues. "I think we both can see why."

"Good, well, you two should congratulate yourselves." Ms. McAllister says before excusing them.

"Did she say that to any of the other groups?" Dan asks once they're in the hallway.

"No, definitely not. And certainly not to Nelly Yuki," Blair is practically gleeful as they walk side by side.

"Wow, this feud is really continuing," Dan notes, smirking.

"Of course, I don't have you to compete against anymore so I need a new nemesis."

"So I'm not your nemesis anymore?" Dan asks, sounding surprised.

"No, Humphrey." Blair smiles. "I think you stopped being my nemesis a long time ago. Or maybe you never were."

"Maybe not," Dan agrees.

It's Friday afternoon and Blair is full of uncertainty. Where up until 30 minutes ago she was still on a high from yesterday, uneasiness has set in now. She had a realization as she walked down the hallway and realized that this was the second to last Friday of the semester. Therefore, only one week left of class. With the project over already, there was no more need to see Dan on the weekends and lunch breaks. At the start of the semester, she had dreamed of this moment. It was her light at the end of the tunnel, but now, it's not. It's a scary bleak future and she doesn't know how it got to be that way.

Except of course she does. It was the kiss they never talked about. It was the friendship they never truly acknowledged.

"You okay?" Blair doesn't even hear Dan slide into the seat next to her in sixth period just now. She looks up, and her thoughts are broken by his concerned face.

"Fine, why?" She furrows her brow.

"Oh, you just looked stressed or something. Worried about the grade? We'll find out on Monday, don't lose your confidence now on me, Waldorf. You had me convinced we had gotten an A."

"I'm still sure we did," Blair can't think of anything else to say but luckily she doesn't have to because the teacher calls up a group to present. It's not like she wants to admit to Dan that she's going to miss him when this is all over.

As they walk out of class an hour later, Dan turns to her. "So you must be pretty excited, your first weekend of freedom."

"What do you mean? The semester isn't over yet." Blair is confused.

"But we don't have to work on the project together, no need to go to Brooklyn or bring the Brooklyn into your home or whatever it is you always say." Blair feels a sinking sensation at Dan's words.

"Ah," She keeps her voice neutral, hiding the disappointment. "Yeah, I don't know what I'll even do. I feel total despair at the prospect. Maybe I got Stockholm Syndrome from it all." She tries for a joke but it rings false even to her ears.

But Dan doesn't seem to notice. "I wouldn't be surprised, you have been awfully chummy with me lately. But if that's the case, then maybe we shouldn't traumatize you by such a sudden cut off of contact."

"Oh?" Blair asks, staying in step with him. She wishes she didn't feel such a pathetic bubble of hope rising.

"Yeah, maybe we could go to that film festival in TriBeCa this weekend. You did mention you wanted to go and I was planning on going anyways so it would be convenient." He says nonchalantly.

Blair nods, "I suppose that could work. I did really want to go,"

"And you are on the way, so I could stop by your place first and we could share a cab over." Dan suggests, lightly. So lightly she thinks he might actually only be proposing this because it is completely convenient to him. The thought makes her feel a tiny bit disappointed.

"Sounds reasonable to me." Blair mirrors his turn. They've reached the sidewalk she realized now and this is where they'll need to part ways.

"So I'll see you Saturday then?" Dan asks.

"I'll see you Saturday, Humphrey." Blair fights back a smile as she turns and walks away.

Blair should feel better that night, knowing that she will see Dan tomorrow. Except she doesn't. The uneasiness still hasn't left and it, in fact, has grown. Because now, she's actually hanging out with Dan Humphrey tomorrow, no education purposes provided at all. Or going on a date? This is mainly what she's been uncertain about all day. She feels silly for wanting it to be a date but she does. Because if it was a date that would mean they would kiss again and the kiss feels like so long ago that she's started to wonder if she imagined it.

When he picks her up the following afternoon, his outfit gives no indication. He's dressed similarly to how he was that time they went to the concert, a button down shirt, dark jeans, and nice shoes. She had fretted over her outfit and left her room in a state of disarray after finally settling on a ruffle trimmed floral dress with a structured jacket over it. Since it was three in the afternoon on a spring day, it seemed safe to finish the outfit with a pair of lace-up espadrilles.

Dorota let Dan in and when she descended the stairs and saw him waiting below, her stomach did that flip-flop that was becoming far too familiar. They greeted each other, casually, as though this was a perfectly normal occurrence and she waved to Dorota who had the most perplexed look on her face.

"No way, that was not the best film of last year." Dan shakes his head, adamantly.

They've been debating this topic for the whole car ride over and Blair can't get him to agree that the best movie was obviously the British documentary about the missions to the moon. It had even won a Sundance award.

"Sorry but just because Vanessa said that The Pool was the best doesn't mean it does. Show me her credentials then I'll listen." Blair rolls her eyes, in a friendly way, she hopes.

"I'm not saying it's the best because Vanessa says it is, I'm just saying I'm not the only person that thought that as you just proclaimed." Dan laughs, unbuckling his seatbelt as the car pulls up.

"Well, let's just hope we can agree on this year's festival." Blair says, following him toward the entrance area.

By the end of the festival, Blair still has no clue if it's a date or not. Or maybe she does but she really hopes she's wrong. At the very least, she hopes she's not the only one that was hoping it was. She waited, patiently for him to make a move. To put his arm around her, to slide his hand across and place it on her knee, to hold her hand. And it's not like she didn't give him any opportunity. She sat closer than she normally would, she made sure her body language was open and receptive to contact, she smiled at him often and openly.

I mean, if she couldn't even get Dan Humphrey to kiss her (again) then who would? She might be headed straight toward spinsterhood at this rate.

Dan did though, insist on walking her up to her penthouse which was a good sign. Even Chuck often just dropped her off at the sidewalk when they were hooking up and she'd watch his sleek limo pull away. As they rode up the elevator, just a few floors away it suddenly got quiet, the air filled with anticipation. Once the elevator doors opened and they were in her foyer, her heart rate had quickened to a lightning pace.

"Thanks for walking me up," Blair says, standing across from him.

"Of course, this was…" Dan trails off, taking a step closer.

"Yeah," Blair agrees, breathlessly. The kiss is coming, she can sense it. It _is_ a date after all.

"So…" Dan steps in a little closer and she feels a thumping in her chest. He's close enough now that she can sense his presence. And as she starts to lean in, having grown impatient with the waiting her eyes flutter close.

"Oh Ms. Blair!" Blair jumps back at the sound of Dorota's voice. Yet she doesn't see her, anywhere. "I so worried. It after dark and you nowhere to be heard from. I thought Brooklyn Boy take you somewhere dangerous." Dorota finally emerges from around the corner in the dining room. "I just hear you, I been cleaning kitchen while I wait."

"Fuck, Dorota. You scared me. So the only thing you should be worried about is giving me a heart attack." Blair glares at the maid, if she could tell she had gotten home, couldn't she have sensed she was about to be kissed?

Blair looks at Dan and he looks equally taken aback. "I should go," He says suddenly. "I'll see you later, Blair."

"Right," She feels a swell of disappointment. "Bye, Humphrey."

"You have fun Ms. Blair?" Dorota asks skeptically once he's gone but Blair ignores her and stalks off to her room.

Come Monday morning, Blair is now fully and entirely convinced that she imagined the whole scenario. Dan probably wasn't going to kiss her at all. It was all in her head and she feels like a total idiot. She figured it out when she saw him, looking all unconcerned in class on Monday. He didn't look like he had just spent all weekend contemplating an almost kiss all weekend. Because there was no almost kiss.

They get their grade, it's an A, just like Blair knew it would be and she feigns the excitement she wished she felt. And by Friday, when the semester is over and so is all of this, she resigns herself to the fact she will indeed end up a spinster. A spinster who has Dan Humphrey for a friend.

Because the film festival turns out to be the first completely platonic hangout of many to come. She doesn't even remember how it became a regular thing but it has. By the end of May, she knows that each week will have at least one Humphrey-encounter and she actually looks forward to it.

As for the kiss?

With the passing of every week, the kiss threatens to recede further into her memory. By mid-June she is pretty certain that's where it'll stay locked. A one-time kiss that she'll remember every time she passes by the Yale book tower two years from now or goes down the French History aisle of the library. She'll think of what it was like to be pressed against the books by Dan Humphrey, to have his hands cup her face, to feel his lips on hers. A kiss that will never be repeated or spoken of again.

And it turns out she's right.

Until a cloudy day at the end of June. Blair is sitting next to Dan on the couch in his loft, empty save for the two of them. They're halfway through Roman Holiday, Joe and Anne are about to kiss at any moment and Blair is enraptured by the movie. Just then, Dan says her name, a question in his voice. Blair turns, ready to berate him for interrupting her favorite scene which he knew was her favorite scene because she told him that when they first discussed the movie weeks ago so why would he interrupt the movie now of all moments? Except she doesn't get to launch into her tirade...

Because before she can say a word, Dan presses his lips to hers.

* * *

 **TBC...**

 **Thank you so much for reading and again for encouraging me to continue this story! I am so amazed by how many of you actually want this story to go on, I figured with that delays you all would be over it by now. So your support really means a lot!**

 **As mentioned in the first AN, this story will be continuing. Next chapter will be in Dan's POV and will set up Part Two of the story. Be sure to leave feedback of what you want to see happen in Part Two! :)**


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